It was suppose to be my first weekend off in 2 months.  The husband and I were going to spend the day together.  We were going to cook together, watch a movie, exercise, and read Qur’an.

Alas, I am at work.

And as if that didn’t suck enough, I am screwed.

See, I got a call to come and scan documents to send to experts ASAP.  Sounds thrilling, right?  Oh, it gets better.

They installed the new scanners this weekend.

And I don’t know how to work them.

I’m usually pretty good at figuring out new pieces of equipment.  But now it’s giving me errors and I don’t know what to do.

*puts head on desk and sighs*

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Introducing the Burda of al-Busiri

A recitation of the Burda by women

Is it true that there is blatent shirk in the Qasida Burda?

Read it in english here

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Sing along with me in praise of the last Prophet (saws), the best caller to God’s way, the Mercy to all mankind, the beloved of Allah (swt).

Verily Allah and His angels bless the Prophet; O you who believe, you too should send blessings on him and salute him with peace. 33:56

…and tell me what you love about the Prophet Muhammad (saws).

Where do animals go after they die?

Question:

My cat that I have had and loved for 15 years just passed away and I was wondering what happens to animals once they pass away?? do they go to paradise? Also we chose for him to have a natural death at home on warm bedding instead of being euthanized at the vet…did we make the right choice even though he was really suffering?

Answer:

Walaikum assalam,

By clear Qur’anic text, you’ll have whatever you wish for in Paradise. Thus, if you wish to have your cat in paradise, it will be with you, in the best of states.

But be sure to get there!

Faraz Rabbani

Can you imagine spending eternity with that face?  Love ya Squeakster!

Alhamdulilah, tomorrow marks the beginning of the month of Rabi’-al-Awwal.  Several important events in muslim history took place during this month, but most significantly for us and for all humanity, on the 12th of this month, the beloved Prophet (saws), the mercy to all mankind was born. 

click on the above image to purchase

inshaAllah I plan to post something every day relating to our beloved Prophet (saws).  Of course, you all know me.  I’ll probably get side tracked in a week or so, but I’ll do my best inshaAllah.

Two muslim related stories on my NPR station here today:

 Was Bridges TV Beheading an Honor Killing?

With an excerpt from Sh. Hamza’s khutbah last Friday and a short interview with him.

Somalis worried after suicide bomber details emerge

As federal authorities continue to investigate the disappearances of a number of young Twin Cities men, some Somalis say the climate feels similar to the months following 9/11.

Mueller on Monday told the independent Council on Foreign Relations that authorities believe Ahmed, a naturalized U.S. citizen, “was radicalized in his hometown in Minnesota.”

…

Sharmarke Jama, 26, said many Somali-Americans bitterly opposed the 2006 Ethiopian invasion of their homeland. Jama, and his friend, Ramla Bile, said they heard stories about the Ethiopian troops raping Somali women and looting property. And they said it’s not surprising that some Somali-Americans were moved to action.

“But you heard it in the sense of, ‘I want to go back to Somalia and bring change,’” Jama said. “But then the suicide bombing changed the dynamics. I think it scared a lot of people. It was seen as something so anti-Somali.”

…

And now, Bile said wonders what the general public might think of Somalis in Minnesota.

While she was riding a light-rail train recently, Bile said she overheard a group of men harassing a teen-age Somali boy, telling him that his people were terrorists and that they didn’t deserve to be here.

 

 

…for myself as much as for my readers:

Allah (swt) says in the Qur’an:

“Guard strictly As-Salawat (the prayers) especially the middle Salat.” (2:238)

Ibn Mas`ud (ra) reported: I asked the Messenger of Allah (saws): “Which act is the best?” He (saws) said, “As-Salat at their fixed times.” I asked, “What next?” He (ra) said, “Being dutiful to parents.” I asked, “What next?” He (saws) said, “Jihad in the way of Allah.” [Bukhari and Muslim]

Jabir (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said, “Between a man and disbelief is the abandonment of Salat.” [Muslim]

Jabiru (ra) reported: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said, “The similitude of the five Salat is like a river running at the door of one of you in which he takes a bath five times a day.” [Muslim]

2 pictures to make up for the lack of the weekly squeaky last week

Cairo Bombing

We bought our wedding rings from a little vendor in Khan Khalili.  From the video, it looks like the bomb went off right next to where we sat and exchanged rings.

What did these people ever do to the bomber?  What offense?  How on earth do people think this is ok islamically?

stupid stupid stupid.

I’ve become a fairly decent cook and baker.  In the early days of our marriage, dinner consisted of macaroni and cheese with some cut up hot dogs and frozen veggies mixed in.  For a little variety, I may use rice a roni instead of macaroni.  This got very boring very quickly, and my blood pressure went through the roof. 

A year ago, I read Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, and my life changed forever.  The processed foods were chucked out the door.  Ok ok, I’ll admit, I still eat macaroni and cheese about once a week, but other then that, everything I buy needs to fit into this framework:

 “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

For me, this statement translates into buying as many whole foods as possible and making as much as I can from scratch.  Processed food stuffs contain so many ingredients that are a mystery.  For someone who eats zabiha, it’s more than just a question of health.  We want to know that what is going into our bodies is halal.  No alcohol.  No animal products from non zabiha slaughtered animals.  If the alcohol or animal product is cleverly disguised with any number of chemically sounding names, how are we to be sure that our food is halal? 

The answer is simple – buy food with ingredients that are whole and make your meals from scratch.  Not everything that comes out of a box is bad, but more often then not, it’s just not that good for you.

I recently posted this suggestion from Michael Pollan on a muslim message board

1. Don’t eat anything your Great-Grandmother wouldn’t recognize

No Go-Gurt Portable Yogurt tubes. (She wouldn’t be able to identify high-fructose corn syrup, modified corn starch, kosher gelatin, carrageenan, tricalcium phosphate, natural and artificial flavors, etc.) No “protein waters,” “nondairy creamers” or foods that never grow stale.

2. Avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronouncable, c) more than five in number, or that include d) high fructose corn syrup

Pollan’s example: Sara Lee’s Soft & Smooth Whole Grain White Bread, which fails every test proposed by this rule. “If not for the indulgence of the Food and Drug Administration, (it) could not even be labeled “bread,” he wrote.

3.  Avoid products that make health claims

If a food has a health claim, it probably has a package and that means it’s very likely processed. Moreover, the FDA’s “qualified” health claims” are all but meaningless.

4. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle

“Processed foods products dominate the center aisles of the store while the cases of ostensibly fresh food–dairy, produce, meat and fish–line the walls,” Pollan wrote. Be careful though, because high-fructose corn syrup lurks in the dairy case.

5. Get out of the supermarket whenever possible

“You won’t find any high-fructose corn syrup at the farmer’s market. Also look into CSA (community supported agriculture), in which you can subscribe to a farm and receive a box of produce.)

Unfortunately, the only responses I got were to say that this was too hard for the average person to do.  I disagree.  While it may be overwhelming at first, it’s totally doable, and it’s all about your mind set.   Are you going to approach this as a drag, ohh sigh, life was so much easier when I could just throw things in my cart without reading the ingredient list?  Or are you going to approach it as an act of worship?  Allah (swt) tells us in the Qur’an:

Remember Me and I will Remember you (2:152)

Every second you spend scrutinizing the ingredient list, know that you are doing it for Allah (swt).  Know that you are doing it because He has asked you to eat only halal.  Know that you are doing it to obey Him, to worship Him, to remember Him. 

If that extra time you spend in the grocery store becomes an act of worship, then how can you begrudge it?  The same mentality holds true for cooking from scratch.  I set aside a few hours on the weekend to prepare the food for the week.  I make a few different meat dishes, a few substantial vegetable sides and a dessert.  The only thing I haven’t mastered yet is bread, but inshaAllah I’m going to start working my way through these lessons and see what I can do.

Here are some resources I’ve found invaluable in my cooking odessy:

• Omnivore’s Dilemma – follows four meals from their beginning as plants and animals through the processing until they’re on your plate.  A real eye opener as to where our food comes from

• In Defense of Food – finding the food amongst the food stuff that clutters our lives.

• International and Vegetarian Cookbooks – plenty of recipes that don’t call for processed foods and chemically stuff

  • Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian

  • Madhur Jaffrey’s World of the East Vegetarian

  • Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home, Fast and Easy Recipes for Every Day

  • Moosewood Restaurant’s Simple Suppers

  • Varied Kitchens of India

•  Recipe Websites – if I’m at a loss for what to make, I’ll look in the cupboard or fridge, see something I have on hand, and search for a recipe that I can make with it.  It’s a great way to try something new

  • All Recipes

  • RecipeZaar

  • RecipeHound

  • 101 Cookbooks

  • The Fresh Loaf

  • Ahmed’s Egyptian Recipes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 18, 2009
Media contact: Wajahat Ali, 510-909-7506, wajahatmali@hotmail.com

American Muslims Call for Swift Action Against Domestic Violence

Murder of Buffalo resident Aasiya Zubair spurs American Muslims to forcefully address domestic abuse and violence against women; call on imams to address DV in Friday sermons

SAN FRANCISCO – A coalition of Muslim organizations, journalists, community leaders, imams, and other concerned citizens are calling for immediate action by American Muslim leaders and religious figures to address domestic abuse and violence in America, including that found in the American Muslim community, on Friday, February 20, 2009. 

In response to the collective concern of the American Muslim community, imams and religious leaders across America have been asked to speak out against domestic violence to their congregations. They are asked to remind congregants of the Prophet Muhammad’s abhorrence of harshness, abuse and violence, and emphasize solutions that strengthen families and ensure all members are treated with fairness and respect, free of fear of abuse or violence.

Members of the coalition are contacting imams and religious leaders in major Islamic centers and mosques. They are encouraging sermons addressing domestic violence and are offering resources available through the Peaceful Families Project, a Muslim-run domestic violence prevention organization founded in 2000, to help educate the American Muslim community. This education addresses the extent to which domestic violence exists and strategies to stop it.

Several prominent imams have heeded the call to action by concerned American Muslims including Shaykh Hamza Yusuf of the Zaytuna Institute in Berkeley, Ca. and Imam Tahir Anwar of the South Bay Islamic Association in San Jose, Ca. These imams have committed their Friday sermons to addressing domestic violence and preaching that in the Islamic tradition and by the example of the Prophet Muhammad, family harmony can never be achieved by force and that emotional and physical abuse is never acceptable.

This call is being broadcast through various channels, including blogs, Facebook groups, personal contacts, and news media. “The outcry among Muslim Americans against this type of violence is a heartfelt one,” said Shahed Amanullah, editor-in-chief of the online newsmagazine altmuslim.com. “It is essential that we address the problem and take steps to ensure that no one else faces the same tragic fate as Ms. Zubair.”

Specific calls to action for imams and religious leaders include:

1. Unequivocally denounce domestic violence and any attitudes that enable or excuse it
2. Remind Muslims that the Prophet Muhammad condemned with unequivocal language all forms of spousal abuse.
3. Immediately create community social service committees made up of qualified social service providers to supply educational resources and staff institutional programs that support abused and battered women.
4. Promote educational and awareness programs that outline abusive and violent behaviors. 
5. Allow community members ways of pointing out and preventing the emergence or escalation of possibly abusive relationships and environments

Individuals and organizations helping to organize this call (partial list, titles for identification purposes only):

• Salma Abugideri, Peaceful Families Project
• Wajahat Ali, Playwright, Attorney and Journalist, domesticcrusaders.com
• Shahed Amanullah, editor-in-chief of the online newsmagazine altmuslim.com
• Zeba Iqbal, Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals
• Ruby Khan, Director, Hamdard Center for Health and Human Services
• Dr. Aminah McCloud, Professor of Islamic Studies, DePaul University
• Hussein Rashid, Visiting Professor, Hofstra University, husseinrashid.com

Mosques, imams, and organizations confirmed to have joined this effort (partial list):

• Arab American Association of New York (New York, NY)
• Arab Muslim American Federation (New York, New York)
• Council of the Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago – Imam Abdul Malik Muhajid
• Islamic Society of San Francisco – Imam Khalid Siddiqui
• Islamic House of Wisdom (Dearborn, MI) – Imam Mohammad Elahi
• Islamic Center of Greater Lansing (Detroit, MI) – Imam Dawud Walid
• South Bay Islamic Association (San Jose, CA) – Imam Tahir Anwar
• The Islamic Center at New York University – Haroon Moghul
• Zaytuna Institute (Berkeley, CA) – Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Resources for the media regarding Muslim efforts to confront domestic violence:

• ACCESS (Michigan): www.accesscommunity.org
• Apna Ghar (Chicago): www.apnaghar.org
• Central Texas Muslimaat (Austin, Texas): http://www.ctmaustin.org
• Domestic Violence Resources for Muslims:  http://www.crescentlife.com/psychissues/domestic_violence.htm
• Facebook Call to Action: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=54807221754 
• Hamdard Center for Health and Human Services (Chicago):  http://www.hamdardcenter.org
• Manavi (New York, NY):  http://www.manavi.org
• Muslims For Progressive Values (Los Angeles): http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/mpv-dv
• Narika (San Francisco):  http://www.narika.org
• North American Islamic Shelter for the Abused (San Francisco): http://www.ask-nisa.org
• Peaceful Families Project: www.peacefulfamilies.org
• Sakhi (New York, NY):  http://www.sakhi.org
• SEMAH (San Francisco): http://www.semah.org
• Tahirih Justice Center (Falls Church, Va..): http://www.tahirih.org
• Turning Point for Women and Families (New York, NY): www.turningpoint-ny.org

US congressmen express shock at Gaza devastation

Ellison, a representative from Minnesota, harshly criticised restrictions on the delivery of desperately needed goods into the coastal strip that has been under a crippling Israeli blockade imposed after the Hamas takeover.

“People, innocent children, women and non-combatants, are going without water, food and sanitation, while the things they so desperately need are sitting in trucks at the border, being denied permission to go in,” he said.

“The stories about the children affected me the most,” said Ellison. “No parent, or anyone who cares for kids, can remain unmoved by what Brian and I saw here.”

Rep. Ellison heads to the Middle East

Ellison spoke with MPR News from the ruins of a high school that he said American taxpayers had helped build.

“Why would this school, the American International school get bombed?” he said. “Just thinking about these seniors and all the kids that go to this school and how we’re trying to create kids with a democratic and liberal education, and how now all those dreams have just collapsed with this building.”

Homeland Security to meet with Somali community leaders

Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are visiting Minneapolis this week. The agency says it wants to build better relationships with the area’s Somali community, which has been shaken by the recent disappearances of young men.

Minnesota Somali Religious Leaders Welcome New Unity Government in Somalia

Somali imams and religious leaders in Minnesota fully support the process of peace, reconciliation, and unity that lead to the election of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. Minnesota enjoys the largest number of Somalis in the nation and we add our voice to strengthen the peace process. Cognizant of the significance of this historic moment for stability, we propose the following:

1. The government and people of Somalia – inside the country and outside – must work together for peace and unity.
2. The new government and the Resistance forces must resolve the differences through peaceful negotiations, and work together for the benefit of the people.
3. The Somalis as Muslim people must desist from extending the civil war, and forgive one another.
4. The new government must work for justice and equality to achieve peace.
5. The government must apply Islamic Law as the basis of the constitution.
6. Somalis must rely on themselves in determining the future of the country to avoid foreign interference.
7. Somali scholars and intellectuals must realize the special responsibility placed upon their shoulders in determining the future of the nation.
8. The government must act quickly to provide relief the suffering of the displaced people inside and outside the country.
9. The Somali religious leaders in Minnesota are willing to play a constructive role in mediating the conflicting groups in the country, if needed.

Please make abundant dua for the mother of my husband’s best friend Yousry.

She is only living with the assistance of a machine, and it looks like her time is near.

captioned by moi, picture via icanhazcheezburger

Via TWFKAJAABMW?

RESPONDING TO THE KILLING OF AASIYA HASSAN: AN OPEN LETTER TO THE LEADERS OF AMERICAN MUSLIM COMMUNITIES

By Imam Mohamed Hagmagid Ali
Executive Director, ADAMS Center
Vice-President, The Islamic Society of North America

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is saddened and shocked by the news of the loss of one of our respected sisters, Aasiya Hassan whose life was taken violently. To God we belong and to Him we return (Qur’an 2:156). We pray that she find peace in God’s infinite Mercy, and our prayers and sympathies are with sister Aasiya’s family. Our prayers are also with the Muslim community of Buffalo who have been devastated by the loss of their beloved sister and the shocking nature of this incident.

This is a wake up call to all of us, that violence against women is real and can not be ignored. It must be addressed collectively by every member of our community. Several times each day in America, a woman is abused or assaulted. Domestic violence is a behavior that knows no boundaries of religion, race, ethnicity, or social status. Domestic violence occurs in every community. The Muslim community is not exempt from this issue. We, the Muslim community, need to take a strong stand against domestic violence. Unfortunately, some of us ignore such problems in our community, wanting to think that it does not occur among Muslims or we downgrade its seriousness.

I call upon my fellow imams and community leaders to never second-guess a woman who comes to us indicating that she feels her life to be in danger. We should provide support and help to protect the victims of domestic violence by providing for them a safe place and inform them of their rights as well as refer them to social service providers in our areas.

Marriage is a relationship that should be based on love, mutual respect and kindness. No one who experiences a marriage that is built on these principles would pretend that their life is in danger. We must respond to all complaints or reports of abuse as genuine and we must take appropriate and immediate action to ensure the victim’s safety, as well as the safety of any children that may be involved.

Women who seek divorce from their spouses because of physical abuse should get full support from the community and should not be viewed as someone who has brought shame to herself or her family. The shame is on the person who committed the act of violence or abuse. Our community needs to take a strong stand against abusive spouses. We should not make it easy for people who are known to abuse to remarry if they have already victimized someone. We should support people who work against domestic violence in our community, whether they are educators, social service providers, community leaders, or other professionals.

Our community needs to take strong stand against abusive spouses and we should not make it easy for them to remarry if they chose a path of abusive behavior. We should support people who work against domestic violence in our community, whether they are educators or social service providers. As Allah says in the Qur’an: “O ye who believe! Stand firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you swerve, and if you distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well-acquainted with all that you do” (4:136).

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never hit a women or child in his life. The purpose of marriage is to bring peace and tranquility between two people, not fear, intimidation, belittling, controlling, or demonizing. Allah the All-Mighty says in the Qur’an: “Among His signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are signs for those who reflect” (30:21),

We must make it a priority to teach our young men in the community what it means to be a good husband and what the role the husband has as a protector of his family. The husband is not one who terrorizes or does harm and jeopardizes the safety of his family. At the same time, we must teach our young women not to accept abuse in any way, and to come forward if abuse occurs in the marriage. They must feel that they are able to inform those who are in authority and feel comfortable confiding in the imams and social workers of our communities.

Community and family members should support a woman in her decision to leave a home where her life is threatened and provide shelter and safety for her. No imam, mosque leader or social worker should suggest that she return to such a relationship and to be patient if she feels the relationship is abusive. Rather they should help and empower her to stand up for her rights and to be able to make the decision of protecting herself against her abuser without feeling she has done something wrong, regardless of the status of the abuser in the community.

A man’s position in the community should not affect the imam’s decision to help a woman in need. Many disasters that take place in our community could have been prevented if those being abused were heard. Domestic violence is not a private matter. Any one who abuses their spouse should know that their business becomes the business of the community and it is our responsibility to do something about it. She needs to tell someone and seek advice and protection.

Community leaders should also be aware that those who isolate their spouses are more likely to also be physically abusive, as isolation is in its own way a form of abuse. Some of the abusers use the abuse itself to silence the women, by telling her “If you tell people I abused you, think how people will see you, a well-known person being abused. You should keep it private.”

Therefore, to our sisters, we say: your honor is to live a dignified life, not to put on the face that others want to see. The way that we measure the best people among us in the community is to see how they treat their families. It is not about how much money one makes, or how much involvement they have in the community, or the name they make for themselves. Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) said, “The best among you are those who are best to their families.”

It was a comfort for me to see a group of imams in our local community, as well as in the MANA conference signing a declaration promising to eradicate domestic violence in our community. Healthy marriages should be part of a curriculum within our youth programs, MSA conferences, and seminars as well as part of our adult programs in our masajid and in our khutbahs.

The Islamic Society of North America has done many training workshops for imams on combating domestic violence, as has the Islamic Social Service Associate and Peaceful Families Project. Organizations, such as FAITH Social Services in Herndon, Virginia, serve survivors of domestic violence. All of these organizations can serve as resources for those who seek to know more about the issues of domestic violence.

Faith Trust Institute, one of the largest interfaith organizations, with Peaceful Families Project, has produced a DVD in which many scholars come together to address this issue. I call on my fellow imams and social workers to use this DVD for training others on the issues of domestic violence. (For information, go to the website: www.faithtrustinstitute.org/). For more information, or to access resources and materials about domestic violence, please visit www.peacefulfamilies.org.

In conclusion, Allah says in the Qur’an “O my son! Establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid what is wrong; and bear with patient constancy whatever betide thee; for this is firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs” (31:17). Let us pray that Allah will help us to stand for what is right and leave what is evil and to promote healthy marriages and peaceful family environments. Let us work together to prevent domestic violence and abuse and especially, violence against women.

I was going to bold parts I found especially important, but I realized halfway through I was bolding just about the entire letter.  Read it, pass it on, implement it.

Yesterday, I used the wayback machine to document evidence for a patent dispute.  More proof that my time online has not been a big, giant waste.

So there’s this jehovah’s witness lady who rides my bus.  She’s quite nice, and I used to sit next to her often.  However, our schedules have changed and we don’t take the same bus anymore.

As an ardent JW, she would try to share her faith with me every time we saw each other.  I nod, smile, take the occasional magazine, and in time, I pointed her towards the husband.  The husband actually enjoys talking with proselytizers.   Unfortunately, he has a knack for scaring them away.  When the mormons came knocking, he was happy to talk, but when he asked if they had the signs of faith in Mark 16:17-18, ie they’d be able to drink poison, they left rather quickly.

The JW lady set him up to talk with several different “brothers,” all of whom got frustrated with my husband questions about scriptural discrepancies and stopped returning his emails and refused to meet with him.  For a group of people who profess to be serious students of the bible, they weren’t very good at answering questions about the scripture.  The last brother actually told my husband to just read the message and stop concentrating on the text itself.  The husband countered that if the text is flawed, how could anyone believe the message?

Last year, we had the JW lady and some of her friends over to our apartment.  Their goal was to do some witnessing.  My goal was to do some reverse dawah.  I cleaned everything from top to bottom, and prepared fresh fruit and dessert.  She couldn’t stop thanking me for being so kind to them, that normally people were very terse when they came around.  I explained that our Prophet (saws) made hospitality a matter of faith:

Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let them treat their guest generously. (Bukhari, Muslim, others)

And that it was my duty to make them feel comfortable.  Then they got into the discussion with my husband re: the bible.  No headway was made.  After awhile, the JW’s friends started to look uncomfortable, so they prepared to leave.  As they were about to head out the door, I pulled a few qurans off the shelf and offered them.  They refused.  I was floored.  Here was had given them the opportunity to preach their faith to us, offered them the hospitality of our home, and they refused a gift in kind?  After that, I began to politely decline the offers of magazines and discussions on the bus.  If you’re going to witness, at least be open to witnessing in kind.

My husband still sees the JW lady on the bus on occasion.  This morning, he called me up as I walked to work, and was very excited.  He’d been having an email discussion with the JW lady recently, and this morning on the bus, she gave him a list of questions for him to answer about islam.  Alhamdulilah, her first interest in the religion, aside from a few passing questions about the end of times.

Make dua for Allah (swt) to open her heart and to guide our hands as we answer these questions.

China (and France) to Build Mecca Rail System

On one hand, alhamdulilah!  I’ve always thought with all the modernization the Saudis were doing around hajj, the one thing they were missing was a rail system that could shuttle pilgrims between the sights more efficiently, possibly leaving the roads open for those who want to walk?  I know, I’m crazy, but the idea of being crammed in a bus for 12 hours on the way to arafat does not sound like a situation condusive to spiritual growth.  I’d rather walk.

And on the other hand, boooo!  Can’t muslims do anything for themselves?  If there really no muslim owned company capable of building a transportation system worthy of one of the pillars of our religion?  I don’t have anything against non muslim businesses (heck, I work for one), but something just seems…wrong…about non muslim company building something for the hajj.

How can we complain if we’re not stepping up to the plate to take care of our own children?

Christian foster mother struck off after Muslim girl converts:

The woman has been banned by her local council for failing to prevent the teenager from getting baptised, even though the girl was 16 and made up her own mind to change religion.

The carer, a churchgoer in her 50s who has fostered more than 80 children, has now been forced to move out of her home.

She has lost the farmhouse she rented to look after vulnerable teenagers, due to the loss of income.

From the net, a 2002 article by Catherine England, published in Aziza magazine.  Read it.

We get calls for muslim (foster) families, for muslim children…and we can’t place them.  When everyone says no, that means they are placed where ever the state can place them.  That will be within a culture and a religion that is foreign to them.  Every day they are within a non muslim home diminishes their religion identity.

- Molly Dagget, MSW, Lutheran Social Services

Community needs Muslim foster homes

Foster parenting is when an individual is interested in providing stability for a child who has been removed from the care of his or her family due to a situation in which the biological parents are no longer able to care of the child. According to experts, this is many times due to abuse or neglect.

When a child is taken out of the home, the first option is for relatives to care for them, Mohmand-Farhad said.

In the case of Muslim children, if that’s not possible, the agency tries to place them with a Muslim family in the community.

“But if no one steps forward, then the child is placed with whoever can take them,” she said. “In foster care, no religion is supposed to be imposed on the children, but it’s still always nice to have your own religion or your own culture available to you.”

Shaikh Yassir Fazaga, imam and religious director at the Orange County Islamic Foundation in Mission Viejo, Calif., said the Muslim community is obliged to care for foster children.

“This is a communal obligation,” he said. “If enough individuals have done it, than the community as a whole fulfills the obligation. But if we don’t have enough foster parents, then as a community, we have to re-evaluate the situation.”

Foster Care Link – organization for fostering muslim kids in the UK

Apparently, water from the glass is a lot tastier then water from the dish, even if they both came from the same pur water filter.

define chutzpha.  To stand outside someone’s place of worship with a megaphone and slander their religion.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/nPZxsuRlvh4" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/-v1DtuYOEYc" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

I especially like the rant at minute 6 of the first video.  We don’t convert to christianity because we don’t want to give up our sin, that we’d rather have a few minutes of pleasure then all of eternity.  Srsly?  Aside from polygamy and not believing in the divinity of Jesus (as), I can’t think of anything muslims are allowed to do that is considered a sin for christians.

If they took down the signs, put away the megaphones, and just tried to engage in dialogue (a’la the Prophet Muhammad), I’d have no issue.  But dudes, a megaphone?

it sucks.  Especially when it’s one of your “friends” trying to curry favor with someone who has more power in the office.

that is all

…the highlight of your week, nay month, is your acquisition of the Swingline Optima PowerEase Stapler.

It truely is a thing of beauty.  I bought it myself, after going through half a dozen office staplers in as many week.  This staples ~35 sheets with a fraction of the effort, and no mangled paper.  My wrists are would make sujood shukr if they could.

…on the internetz and all the hours I’ve spent decorating pictures of my cat have not been wasted:

I just prepared several exhibits in .jpg form for filing with a motion for summary judgment using photobucket.

Huzzah!

…being from the upper midwest, I’ve never understood groundhog’s day.  Does winter ever end before the middle of March?  What is the business of winter ending soon in February?  It’s always 6 more weeks of winter at least, although winter extends all the way into April, with snow possible until May.  It’s 8 more weeks of winter guaranteed, minimum, by my calculations.

Some days, one just need a kitty in one’s lap.  Unfortunately, one can’t bring her kitty to work, so one must rely on pictures to lift one’s spirits.

Urgh, 12 hours worth of work to do before 10 am.