As a child, family vacations consisted of each child carefully packing a box of books and colored pencils, my mom baking weeks worth of almond chocolate chip muffins and everyone piling into the family van for a 3 week road trip to some scenic and/or historic american destination.  On these family vacations, I developed a great love of history and it’s preservation.  Walking the battlefields at Yorktown and Gettysburg, viewing the Declaration of Independence and Lincoln’s stovepipe hat, following the Oregon Trail westward, earning countless junior ranger badges, american history came alive.  History wasn’t simply something printed on the pages of textbooks.  No, it was something to touch, to see, to experience, to live.   I feel my life is fuller having experienced the history of my country.  I better understand my country, and what it means to be an american.

Imagine my disapointment then, when I first visited the Great Pyramids of Giza and found it was one big tourist trap.  Certainly, there were some highlights, such as the solar barque preservation building, but mostly, it was a bunch of ducking and avoiding men and boys trying to show you secret hidden chambers or get you to overpay for a ride on a poor, mangy camel.  Later trips to historic mosques like al Azhar were mared by janitors demanding enormous amounts of baqsheesh for special tours to places we could have gone to on our own.

But, at least the pyramids and these mosques were still there.  Muslim history, OUR history, has been steadily destroyed right under our very noses by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for decades.  Want to follow in the Prophet’s (saws) footsteps?  Good luck trying to find them.

Is the danger of grave worship and bida so dangerous that we must wipe our history from the face of the earth?  Should not future generations be able to visit these places where the blessed Prophet (saws) and his companions walked, to touch, to see, to experience, to live?  Companions of the Prophet (saws) strove to walk in the Prophet’s footsteps, literally.  They loved him so much that they followed him physically, with their bodies, as well as in their hearts.

Should not muslims today be allowed these same opportunities?  Do we not love the Prophet (saws) and want to imitate him as his companions did?  Cannot these brushes with our history increase our love for the Prophet (saws) and his sunnah, help us to better understand who we are, where we came from, and what it means to be a muslim?

Now, that rant aside, via 13 Martyrs, there is some good news:

The Supreme Council for Tourism plans to open a number of museums across the country including an Islamic museum in Makkah, a Qur’an museum in Madinah and a major one in Jeddah.

It is a very welcome development. Awareness both abroad and at home of the country’s heritage and history ranges, with one or two notable exceptions, from poor to abysmal. The consequences of that are seen in the way historic sites have been left to rot or destroyed altogether to make way for the new — with no concern whatsoever for what is being lost. For the past 40 years or so, the past has been studiously ignored. It was perhaps understandable in the rush for development.

The husband and I attended a CAIR MN dinner on Saturday on African American Muslims and the Civil Rights Movement.  I was looking forward to some down home southern cooking, but alas, it was catered middle eastern food.  Dude, we’re at a predominantly african american mosque that has it’s own kitchen and puts out delicious bean pie.  Why are we eating kabobs and hummus?   Ah, but I digress.

Rep. Keith Ellison and Br. Dawud Walid from CAIR-MI were the two main speakers.  Unfortunately, I don’t think Keith’s speech was recorded, but it was quite inspiring.  I’m kicking myself for not taking notes.  In particular, he called on muslims to get involved in a wider variety of issues, including environmental justice.  I’ve noticed that green muslim movements have been springing up across the country, so now I need to get back in touch with my inner tree hugger and get one going here in Minnesota.

As Br. Dawud was speaking, I was thinking, mashaAllah this guy is an awesome speaker.  I wonder if there’s anyplace online that has his speeches.  Low and behold, there is, and there’s even a recording of Saturday’s speech.

Unfortunately, we had to duck out right after the end of the program, so I didn’t have a question to ask Br. Dawud about one comment in particular – that some were accusing BA muslims of being manipulated into supporting foreign causes like Palestine, but that in reality, it was that BA muslims understand suffering, can empathize with the suffering, and so feel a connection to these causes that naturally lead to their support.  I was wondering if this had anything to do with the recent accusations by a blogger alleging that the immigrant muslim mafia controls BA muslim leadership.

I often blab about how I’m going to take a sunnipath course someday, inshaAllah.  Ah, that someday is now!  I’m signing up for one course this summer, alhamdulilah.  Now comes the hard part – deciding which one to take:

• Commentary on Key Chapters of the Qur’an
• Introduction to the Qur’an
• Essentials of Islam – Shafi’i
• Living Islam – Shafi’i
• Finding the Straight Path
• Foundations of Islamic Law
• Hadith or Fiqh?
• Muslim Scholarly Tradition
• 40 Hadith of Imam Nawawi
• Journey to Allah 1

Yeah, that’s almost every course they have to offer, but I really can’t decide. 

Via Mr. Moo

The fourth Issue of the newsletter EcoIslam is out.  Check out the 3 previous issues on the website as well.

It’s been ages since I’ve been all tree-huggery.  inshaAllah that’s something I need to revive.

In the midst of a chaotic world, God’s words are there, solid, unchanging, to provide a firm ground upon which to stand.

 [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/rzRACOXLyt8" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

We verily created man and We know what his soul whispereth to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (50.16)

Ya Allah, be close to me today!  Provide me solice in this storm!

There are times when I’m not happy that I’m an assistant.  Such a bright future, squandered by not going to law school.

 However, today is not one of those times.  It’s Administrative Assistant week, and the firm is going all out.  $25 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble, breakfast, popcorn, chocolate, raffles, the works.  Our vendors are also trying to suck up as well, and what do you know…one of the vendors gave everyone pashmina scarves.  I got a pretty lilac one.  I’m thinking about offering to buy unwanted scarves from people with no use for them for $5.   I could get a whole rainbow of colors

Obama Name Games Painful to Muslims

NPR covers some Pennsylvanian Muslims’ reaction to the whole muslim as a schmere re: Obama flap.

On a tangent, is anyone else sick of the “Islam is the religion of peace” bit?  It seems to me that this phrase emerged post 9-11, when the american muslim community was in shock and didn’t know how to respond to the increased, often negative attention their faith was given.  But here we are, several years later, and this phrase seems contrived and stale to me.  Shouldn’t we have had time to come up with something a little more descriptive, a little more accurate?  Islam is an increadibly complex religion, and this simplistic phrase doesn’t do it justice.

Islamophoboes have ceased on the phrase, and now everytime a muslim somewhere does something stupid and violent, they’ll be on their message boards crowing “look at this fine member of the religion of peace©.”  If I ever chose to engage these people (and my more recent response has been to steer clear of places where these kinds of statements are bandied about), my response is usually as such:

Islam is not a religion of peace.  It is a religion of balance that seeks peace.  Islam is the middle path.  We are not to vere off towards any extreme.  We are to be neither pacifists nor aggressors.  Islam allows for warfare, but it places strict guidlelines on it’s warriors.  Terrorism happens when muslims do not follow these rules.  They are not acting in accordance with the religion.  If they were, these incidents would not happen.

It saddens me that Islam is reduced to violent acts of those who have strayed off the middle path.  It saddens me because Islam is so much more than that.  Islam has had a profound impact on my life and my relationship with God.  For me, it’s all about the Rememberance of God.  Islam has given me the means and the encouragement to bring God into my everyday life, to thank Him, to praise Him, to worship Him in every act I do.  It’s not about killing people.  It’s about God.

…learned about Islam before I met muslims.  It’s a phrase that has become popular among some converts in recent years, and this weekend, it was more evident to me than it has been in a long long time.  I just celebrated another year as a muslim last week, and sometimes, it seems like nothing has changed.

When I began to investigate Islam, I ordered a Quran from half.com.  I picked another up from the local new age store in my town.  I got another free from the Saudi Embassy, and rescued two from the “books we wanted to sell back but the bookstore wouldn’t take them” box at the university bookstore.  I was on a spiritual quest, and knowing some muslims on a social level at school led me to include islam in my search.  I was picking up sacred texts from other religions as well, but there was something unexplainable in the Qur’an that kept leading me back to it, compelling me to aquire as many as I could find.

I branched out, checking out every book on Islam that the university library had to offer.  Farid Esack’s On Being Muslim had a profound impact on me.   I read through every article on the Modern Religion and Islam for Today.

Oh, I interacted with muslims too, mainly online.  But the main push towards my embrace of Islam came not through my conversations with them, but instead came from my reading of the Qur’an.  Here was what I had been looking for.  I lost faith in Christianity after I studied the history of biblical composition my freshman year of college.  I could no longer hold that collection of books as God inspired.  They’d been messed with too much, disperate pieces taken and mashed together, books chosen by a council of men, rather than something given by the son of God. 

In my search, I wanted a text that was revelation, something that was from God and that had been preserved.  I found that in the Qur’an.  Here God had revealed a text to a man who, I would later find, set an excellent example for man’s conduct with one another, with God and with the earth.  That text was memorized and passed down, perfectly preserved until this very day.   Alhamdulilah, thanks be to God, I had found my path!

After I converted, it was a few more months before I had an opportunity to interact with muslims in the real world.  I transfered schools, and while at the summer orientation, I plucked up the courage to visit the islamic center near campus.  I attempted to put a scarf on, akwardly, and walked through the front door.  big.  mistake.  A big burly man with a bushy beard rushed towards me, arms waving, sisters through the back, sisters through the back!

I stumbled out the door, tears clouding my vision.  I made my way around to the back, only to find the sisters door locked.  I sat dejected next to the door until a woman came up and punched in the code – without saying a word to me.  I entered after her, hastily prayed zuhr and got the heck out of dodge.

I’d like to say that this was an isolated incident and that my experiences with muslims from then on only helped to strengthen my iman and help me to learn the deen.  Alas, it was not to be.  Although I’ve had stints of activity in the muslim community, for the most part it’s just been me, my books and the internet.   Oh, and the husband

This past Saturday, a local masjid had it’s grand opening, a whole day of lectures with 20 imams and sheikhs.  The husband and I went about halfway through the day.  I was reluctant to go, as I’d been to the masjid a few months earlier and wasn’t a fan of the sisters’ accomidations – a tiny room in the back, accessable only by going around the back and taking off your shoes in a garage.   Despite my misgivings, I bucked up and went.  MashaAllah, it was both a mistake and a blessing.  Sisters were packed wall to wall, talking and yelling at each other across the room.  I tried to make my way to be near a speaker, but it was hopeless.  I couldn’t hear a word of the lecture.  Some sisters were trying to quiet the others by hssst-ing at them.  Eventually, I got so frustrated, I got up and shouted, sisters, please, please be quiet so we can hear!  Didn’t work.  I left, dejected once more.

I called the husband and told him I was going to sit in the car and wait until he was done eating so we could leave, which I did.  Alhamduililah for my ipod and Sh. Hamza lectures.  At least my time wouldn’t be a total waste.  Just as I settle in, what to I see out my window?  A small somali child, running bare foot up the middle of the road and almost getting run over by a car!  I leapt out of the car and tried to call the child to me, but he ran right past.  I hurried after him (not an easy thing to do in a skirt and clogs), and eventually coaxed him into my arms.  Meanwhile, a guy at the laundrymat had seen the kid run by and had called the police.  I knew the kid was from the mosque, so I sent several sisters who walked by to find his mother while we waited.  5 minutes pass…no one came.  10 minutes pass…no mom.  15 minutes…the policewoman arrives.  I explain that I think I know where the child came from and she says that she’ll walk us over to the mosque to find the child’s mom.

So off we go, child drooling fruit juice all over my shirt, a non muslim man carrying his laundry and a police woman.  As I enter the sister’s section, someone snatches the child from me and runs inside without a word.  Umm, hello?  Don’t you want to know why I have this child?  No thank you?  I ran in after the sister and told her that her brother (still no mom to be found) had almost been run over and that she needs to watch him more carefully.  She looks at me blankly and slips away. 

Now I turn to the brothers doing security outside the masjid and try to explain what had happened and that could they please watch for any children escaping outside?  What did I get?  Yelled at, that’s what.  Dude, I know the sisters need to watch their kids, all I’m asking is that since you’re out here, please just watch for kids, since this one obviously slipped past you and almost became a road pancake.

At this point, I return to the car and call the husband.  The tears begin to flow and he dashes out to find out what happened.  Blubbering, I tell him the story, and he stalks back to the masjid.  A few minutes later he’s back, with the imam of the masjid in tow.  The imam apologizes for the guard’s rude behavior and begs me not to judge the masjid by this one incident.  I try to smile and tell him that inshaAllah I’ll come to another event in the future.

But, deep inside, I know that it will be a long time before that happens.  I don’t blame this masjid.  It’s not their fault.  It’s a general disease infecting our ummah.  Thank God I found Islam before I found muslims.  I can’t imagine if I was a non muslim and had gone to the mosque on Saturday to learn about Islam.  I would have booked it out of there so fast and probably never looked back.  I can’t imagine what the non muslim man who called the police when he saw the child running down the road must think about muslims and Islam.  I know what some non muslims think when they see muslims rioting in the street, burning embassies and commiting acts of terrorism.   

Alhamduililah I found the Messenger of Allah (swt) before I found those who claim to follow his Sunnah.  Thank God I have the life of the beloved Meseenger (saws) to look to when I need a role model in my faith.

Thank God I found the Allah (swt) before I found those who claim to follow Him (swt).  Who knows what I would be now if that had happened?

… for all the world to see.  To do:

*Blog about muslimiversary and reflections on another year as a muslim

*Continue Sunnah of the Week series

*Blog about awesomeness of women only gyms and gripe about my sore knees

I’ve sported the “American Muslims against Terrorism” Banner in message board signatures for quite some time.  I first put it in there when I was accused of not condemning terrorism in each and every post I made on that board.  Stick it in and wa’la, there’s instant condemnation, so we can move on and get to the point.

But it’s really more than that.  It’s a graphic reminder of the hadith of our beloved Prophet (saws) recorded in Sahih Muslim:

“Whoever sees an evil deed (committed), let him change it by his hand. If he is unable, let him change it by his tongue. If he is unable, let him change it by heart, and this is the weakest of faith.”

Putting a modern spin on it, let him change it with little pixels on the internet.  Sure, it’s not the most effective means of combating terrorism, but it’s definately a statement against an evil deed.

Which now brings me to the original point of this post.  Check out the awesomeness that the graphic designer behind the “Muslims against Terrorism” banners has come up with now:

*huggles new graphics*

Building Sisterhood

And Ibrahim isn’t most people’s vision of a personal trainer. An observant Muslim, Ibrahim hosts her classes in traditional attire, all in accordance with Islam’s decree that a woman show no more than her face and her hands in public. Today Ibrahim’s workout ensemble includes loose black track pants, a pink tunic and a flowered pink hijab, or head wrap, worn chicly with a matching pink baseball cap.

…

Ibrahim has become something of a poster child for a breed of Muslim women who are publicly defying the stereotypes of suppressed, submissive women of Islam. By entering the workplace on their own terms, as business owners, Muslim women are combining religion and profession in a way that forces clients to encounter them in a professional light. Even more surprisingly, many of these small businesses are popping up because of Islam, not in spite of it.

Now that’s my kind of sister.  Visit her gym’s page here, where you can sign up for her email newsletter.

Wow, our community seems to be ground zero for the supposid islamization of america.  Taxi drivers, Target cashiers, flying imams, yup, that’s us.  And now we’re known for the ebil ebil Islamic Charter School with it’s insideous plots to allow students to make wudu, pray jummah and have islamic studies classes after school hours.

 A local reporter isn’t too fond of the local muslim community, and has written on us often.  Recently, she’s reported on Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (aka TIZA), a local arabic language charter school that has a strong islamic flavor. 

Predictibly, this story has been taken up by the right wing blogosphere and waved about as a sure sign that the muzzies are taking over.  As a result, the school has been getting hate messages and death threats.  Charming bunch o folks they are, threatening a bunch of kids.

 Thus far, one TIZA parent has done a good job of collecting info and creating a coherent response on the local muslim email lists that I’m eagerly waiting to be published, and a teacher wrote a letter to the editor:

I am often in classrooms observing teachers and modeling instructional strategies. I have never witnessed any religious instruction during school or any pressure to adhere to particular religious beliefs. In fact, I am a Christian and have always felt completely welcome at TIZA. Why would the school hire a Christian to implement curriculum if it were indoctrinating students in Islam?

I have witnessed excellent teachers from different religious and cultural backgrounds focused on improving instruction and student achievement. That’s why student achievement is so high.

Other local coverage of the issue can be found here and here.  MPR did an excellent story on high test scores at TIZA last year.  Several Minnesota Muslims write for the website Engage Minnesota, where there are already a few articles on the issue with inshaAllah more to follow.  Finally, an article on the use of the term madrassa as a pejorative.

 There’s another aspect of this story that needs to be investigated and presented – the role of religion in other Minnesota Charter schools.  I haven’t seen anything official yet, but through word of mouth, there are several Minnesota charter sponsored by overtly religious orgnizations, and other that are aimed at other ethnic groups like african americans that incorporate christian prayer and ancestor worship.   inshaAllah an intrepid reporter will take this issue up and write on it.  A list of all Minnesota charter schools can be found here.  There are quite a few religiously oriented groups on the list.  Part of the outcry with TIZA is that it’s housed in the same building as a mosque and is sponsored by Islamic Relief.  How is religion interwoven in these schools?

Sometimes I happen upon a blog where I get the urge just to sit and read through the entire thing.  I stumbled upon one such blog today – Fatima Hye.  I haven’t found blogs belonging to too many of Sh. Nuh’s students, so it’s a rare treat when I find one.  This sister in particular writes quite a few good entries on sufism, the tariq and the teacher.  I tried to leave a comment, but it didn’t go through.  inshaAllah she’ll find me through the link back, and maybe even contact me   Taking the tariq is still my intention eventually, inshaAllah, and I feel corresponding with people in the tariq would help me to grasp “it” more fully. 

The husband is from Mahalla el-Kubra, which is current in the midst of a massive strike/riot.  According to the husband, the building next to the library where my MIL works was burned down.

Prayers for my in laws, the husband’s friends and all of Mahalla would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.funci.org/en/

Definately a worthy place to wile away the hours online.  Their online exhibition of Iraq is particularly awesome.

As much as I’d love to respond to this, posting on CF really isn’t good for my iman.  Also not good for one’s iman is nutters like those mentioned in the post.  What is good for my iman then?  Sh. Nuh Keller, may Allah (swt) be pleased with him.  There is rarely a time when I listen to his lectures and I don’t come away feeling my ruh lifted and enlivened. 

If you haven’t listened to Sh. Nuh’s lecture entitled “This is Jihad?” DO IT NOW!  The first half is a review of the rise and effects of wahabism, and the second talks about the rules and nature of jihad.   I’ve only listened through once, but it’s so chock full of good stuff, I’ll probably listen to it a few more times and take notes.  

I’d love to post this on CF, as the sheikh clearly and equivically teaches the opposite of what nutters in said post are preaching, but I worry that it’s too technical for non muslims, and even muslims in general.  If any of my readers listen to this lecture (do I have any readers left?), please leave some feedback on the accessablitily of the lecture.  jazakAllah khair.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

What punishments of hell awaits those who attempt to scam in the name of the beloved Prophet (saws)?

FROM YOUR ISLAMIC SISTER,
MADAM MAKARIM KHALID.
 
“Salaam alaikum” 

I AM MADAM MAKARIM KHALID, 65 YEARS OLD FROM UNITED ARAB EMIRATE (UAE). I BECAME A CITIZEN OF COTE D’IVOIRE (WEST AFRICA) DUE TO MARRIAGE WITH DR.MOHAMED NASIR KHALID  FROM  COTE D’IVOIRE WHICH WILL PROBABLY BE MY FINAL RESTING PLACE. I WAS BORN AN ORPHAN IN 1942 IN MY HOME TOWN IN UAE,THEREAFTER WAS BLESSED TO HAVE MARRIED A HUMBLE AND KIND MAN DR.MOHAMED NASIR KHALID. WE BOTH STRUGGLED AND WORKED HARD AND THE ALMIGHTY ALLAH BLESSED US ABUNDANTLY WITH RICHES. HE WAS A DEALER IN GOLD, DIAMONDS AND TANTALITE.

I AM NOW OLD AND SICK WITHOUT A HUSBAND AND CHILDREN. THIS HAS MADE ME UNHAPPY. I HAVE NOT RE-MARRIED DUE TO THE FACT THAT I WANT TO CHERISH MY HUSBAND’S MEMORIES. FOR 2MONTHS NOW I HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY SICK. I AM PRESENTLY IN HOSPITAL SUFFERING FROM CANCER AND I HAD A STROKE WHICH HAS AFFECTED MY SPEECH. THE LEFT SIDE OF MY BODY IS PARALYSED. THE DOCTORS SAY I HAVE A FEW MONTHS LEFT TO LIVE. I COULD BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE YOU WITH A HELP OF SISTER NURSE DUE TO URGENCY SO THAT I WILL HAND OVER THE INFORMATIONS OF THIS FUNDS TO YOU NOW THAT I AM STILL ALIFE.
 
I DONT KNOW YOU, I WAS ABLE TO GET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS THROUGH A SPECIALISED SOURCE AND BY THE LEADING OF OUR GREAT PROPHET MUHAMMED.
 
BEFORE THE DEATH OF MY HUSBAND HE DEPOSITED US$3.5 MILLION   IN A METALIC TRUNK BOX WITH AN INSURANCE COMPANY HERE IN COTED’IVOIRE.
 
THE DOCUMENTS AND PAPERWORKS ARE WITH WITH MY ATTORNEY.I WANT YOU TO BENEFIT THIS FUNDS FOR ORPHANAGE WORK IN YOUR COUNTRY IN REMEMBERING OF MY LATE HUSBAND”S NAME IN YOUR COUNTRY AND OTHER ISLAMIC COUNTRIES AS WELL.
 
INSHALLAH,GIVING TO THE POOR AND LESS PRIVILEDGED ONCES IS WHAT BEING A MUSLIM,THANKS BE TO ALMIGHTY ALLAH THAT I AM BURN AS A MUSLEM.
 
ALL I NEED FROM YOU IS YOUR ASSURANCE THAT YOU WILL USE THIS FUNDS JUDICIOUSLY AS STATED IN THIS MESSAGE BY SENDING ME YOUR DETAIL CONTACTS AND PHOTOS WITH GOOD SUGGESTION TOWARDS THE SAFE TRANSFER OF THE BOX TO YOU IN YOUR COUNTRY. I HOPE IN YOU AS DIRECTED BY OUR ALMIGHTY ALLAH TAALA
YOU ARE BLESSED.
 
ALLAH HAFFIZ,
 
MRS MAKARIM KHALID.

*pukes*