Rock....Paper... Scissors...JESUS!

Bam!! When my kids at school play this, Jesus totally TRUMPS all of the above. Obviously. It's funny how kids can have more faith in things than adults. Not just concerning their religiosity either. But just in general. They are more optimistic, hopeful, open-minded about things around them then adults are. We can always say it, but it's so true that kids are wiser then we give them credit for. I asked my kids how they would settle a disagreement and argument today. I also asked them to respond and provide both negative and positive ways to settle a dispute. Negative ways included fighting and insulting one another. And positive methods ranged from talking it out, walking away, hearing the opposing side, breathing, counting to ten, apologizing to one another, and asking others for advice. Terry Jones, the pastor that burned the Qu'ran recently, and has been threatening to do so since the 9th anniversary of September 11, and the people in Afghanistan that are attacking and killing innocent civilians in retaliation, could learn a thing or two from them. Shame on all of them for acting the way they are. Whether it's figuratively, or literally, haven't they all learned from Mahatma Gandhi, that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind?

El oh el!

Laughing is refreshing. It's fun to do. It's a helluva lot better than sulking.

Occasionally me and Chuckle have laughing fests. I'll laugh about something, she'll laugh at my distinctive laugh. And next thing you know, we have tears streaming down our face and we're holding the sides of our stomachs from pain.

We also used to lie down next to each other, in an upside down position, and talk to one another. The way your mouth looks in this position, while you talk, used to crack us up! It just looked so dumb and funny to see your mouth move from an upside down angle.





So after watching the recent CNN special on "Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door", I was in a state of panic and worry and disgust and anger and just an overall upset mood. If you haven't watched it or didn't hear about it, it's basically about the city of Mursfreesboro, Tennessee, enraged that the Muslim residents of the city decided on relocating and constructing their mosque to a larger space. There were many people for and OBVIOUSLY against the building of the mosque and many protests over it. So much controversy surrounded it that it was taken to court. Just a lot of tension, bigotry, and ignorance in the city of Mursfreesboro. It was very disheartening to watch and take in.

However I got an email today from one of our former authors, Artistic Logic, that has kept me laughing all day. Instead of getting upset and outraged, Artistic Logic, more or less, pointed out the ridiculous things people say, ludicrous things people do, and even the outrageous things people wear. Not to mention the lack of knowledge people have about a lot of things these days, particularly that of Islam and Muslims. Don't get me wrong, the special presented by CNN is a very serious issue and impacts many people, myself included. And I applaud CNN for taking the initiative and raising awareness about this. But after some time, if you really look back on it, and listen to some of the stuff and watch the actions of people, it really makes you guffaw at it all.

While talking about subject and predicate parts of a sentence with my class, I randomly thought of it, and I suppressed a giggle. And then again when I was yelling at my students for shouting out during instruction, I had to force the smile away that was creeping up on my lips. And while driving home from work, I was grinning from ear to ear, while thinking about it.

I dont know about you, but I just love to laugh. I feel like my whole day was much nicer cause of that email that had me hooting since dawn.

Not to mention that LOL-ing is much more fun and better,then say, FML-ing.

Egyptian Revolution

"Egypt is free! Egypt is free!" Newspaper headlines, CNN breaking news, iPhone apps... Egypt is finally free, Praise be to God. The unimaginable actually happened... and within only 18 days... what a miracle.

Not really sure how to put all this momentum and energy into solid words. But the feeling is just amazing. Its not only about Mubarak stepping down... its the fact that the whole world was behind Egypt united, standing for justice, and continuously supportive. Im not Egyptian and outside of a few friends in Egypt, I dont have much of a connection to that country. But I still felt part of this revolution... I cried, I cheered, I held hope... I just couldnt physically be with the thousands on Tahrir Square day after day.

From January 25th to February 11th, 2011, Egypt is finally FREE!

As a twitter junkie, I found some inspiring tweets about Egypt from celebrities to scholars to journalists to everyday Egyptians:

ArabRevolution تباً لك ياطاغوت by NickKristof
So the Danish are the first to stand up for #Egypt. While we vilified a whole nation for some cartoons. Puts things into perspective

DawudWalid الملا داود والد
#Obama gives credit of uprising in #Egypt to young people.

andersoncooper Anderson Cooper
Mubarak's lies continue.

YasirQadhi Yasir Qadhi
Mubarak everyone!!! Mubarak has gone :)

naveensyed Naveen Syed
Congratulations, #Egypt! So amazing, inspiring, motivational. You deserve it!

jamaaldiwan Jamaal Diwan
The largest non-violent protest in world history prevails!!! Pouring out tears and prayers for those who we lost along the way...

IrshadManji IrshadManji
The ppl of #Egypt have affirmed that liberty is not a Western construct but a universally shared aspiration.

iansomerhalder ian somerhalder
Congratulating the people of Egypt- freedom is every living person's right! You deserve it! Dictators be done!

Alyssa_Milano Alyssa Milano
Happy Birthday, #Egypt!

Ghonim Wael Ghonim by LowkeyMusic1
Dear Western Governments, You've been silent for 30 years supporting the regime that was oppressing us. Please don't get involved now #Jan25

awadofgum
Spent the last couple hours giving out candy on the Diag. People's faces are hilarious when you tell them "Happy Egyptian Revolution Day!"

cwzymuslima cwzymuslima
#Egypt did for itself in 3 weeks what the US could not do for #Iraq and #Afghanistan in nearly 10 years. Peace, not war, overcomes #terror.

nilebabe
Today I'm so incredibly proud and inspired by the power that #egypt claimed back for itself. I'm proud of my family that contributed to it.

DawudWalid الملا داود والد
we bombed Iraq to replace a dictator we propped up.#Egypt, it happen without bombs. So much for the inherently violent Muslim talking point.

NickKristof Nicholas Kristof
Muslims and Christians praying together in #Tahrir. Very inspiring. Le'ts hope--and pray--that that unity persists.


**While we're in the midst of celebrating Egypts freedom, however, lets just not forget that it all started with a man in Tunisia who set himself on fire in protest to the Tunisian dictatorship. This is proof. One person can make a difference.**

-Empty Words (Guest Author)

Its a Revolution

Thousands of Egyptians are rallying in the streets standing up for justice and freedom, the same morals which we claim to have while sitting on our high American horses.

Personally, I think its amazing. It's history in the making! A new revamped Middle East? Who knows, maybe. All I know is that these people have been living under fear and injustice for 30 years. I remember once asking one of my teachers back in Cairo why he didn't grow his beard out, a common Muslim practice. His response: "I fear the government will kill me."

Its hard for us Americans to understand the hardships lower class Egyptians have been dealing with. There is such an insane discrepancy between the rich and the poor. The rich are living it up in their Californian houses behind gated communities while the poor are living in tiny apartments or shacks piling up families of 10 into a bedroom or two.

When I first went to Egypt several years ago one of the first things I was told was not to talk about government or religion in public or on the phone. Imagine living that of lifestyle. Couple it with not being able to get properly educated or solidify a good paying stable job.

Yea, its a revolution. And its about time.

You Don't Really Know

Almost every girl I know is trying to get married.

"Youthful Wisdom, please can you find me a guy. I need to get married."

So I'm about to break it down for real right now. I'm so ANNOYED with single people talking about marriage as if its the most amazing thing in the world. I'm FRUSTRATED with girls bringing up the marriage topic all the time. I'm TIRED of girls without guys planning out their extravagant future wedding. I'm SICK of people telling me that I got it easy and that my life is amazing because I'm married to the Hubster. (Alhumdulillah)

It's about time everyone gets a reality check. Marriage is not the most amazing thing in the world. Yes, its awesome but does that it mean that your life is suddenly going to be fulfilled if you're not fulfilled right now? Does it mean that you'll find happiness if you don't know how to be happy one your own? Does it mean that your pathetic life is suddenly going to be filled with spontaneous fun and flavor?

NO. It does not.

Everyone always talks about marriage in the most positive light. As amazing as married life is, its important that we be frank about it. The reality is, marriage is just a continuation of your life, only now with more responsibilities and hardships.  It is the union of two completely different people with different backgrounds, different customs, different ways of living. And now these two people must come together and figure out how to build a life together, in unison.

I don't think people realize how difficult that really is. I don't think people realize how emotionally grueling this process is. Marriage tests you in every facet of your life and if you're patient then perhaps you'll make it through alive and happy. But that does not happen right off the bat.

Statistics say that almost 50% of first marriages result in divorce. Thats one in every two people!! Take a minute to let that sink in. Seriously. The main reasons why: poor communication, arguments, and infidelity.

If you aren't patient, if you don't know how to keep your mouth shut when you're angry, if you don't know how to place others in front of yourself, if you get upset easily, if you complain often, then you need to A) rethink whether you're really ready for marriage and B) understand the reality of this lifestyle change.

My advice to all you singlettes trying to get married: Please please please ENJOY your single life. God gave us different phases of our life so we can grow and learn from them. There is a blessing in being single and there is a blessing in being married. And hopefully you get to enjoy both those blessings. Be grateful for whatever one you're in because you're in one stage or the other because thats what God knows is best for you.

I apologize if this post offended you. I just wanted everyone to know the reality of what they keep asking for.

Mosque by Ground Zero?

Okay so this is a new hot topic in the news.... the building of a mosque blocks away from Ground Zero where the WTC were.

What's the issue?

People associate Islam with terrorists thus a Muslim place of worship seems scary. Why? Media, media, media. The problem is we can't generalize the acts of a small group of extremists who were in the wrong onto a huge population of people. It's just not logical.

Think of this. Of all the psychologists in the American Psychological Association (APA) 5 of them go and commit some sort of attack on some group. Are we then going to say the APA is a hub for terrorists and we should condemn them all? No, absolutely not. The actions of that group of individuals were wrong and they should be condemned. End of story.

And anyhow the building of a mosque would be the last thing extremists want to do. Why? Because a mosque is a place of prayer, tranquility, community, and understanding. It is a house of God and in it are people who believe in the actual tenets of Islam and practice them in their everyday lives. Park 51 would do wonders in New York City. It would be a hub of interfaith dialoge and community building.

A lot of bloggers have written excellent posts on the topic. Check out Sabrina's Slice of Lemon for an awesome article on the issue.

The Daily Show had an awesome segment on it too!

Wish You Weren't Here

Rant of the Day

Just when I was beginning to think that as an American, I got it wrong, that I was wrong in my perceptions and in my preconceived notions of what people in the Middle East were like— I read this:




Saudi Arabia To Execute TV Host For Sorcery



I mean are you EFFING SERIOUS???? The guy was a Lebanese tv host that read out horoscopes over the air! Oh and the best part was that they got him when he went to Saudi Arabia for UMRAH (pilgrimage). That’s just sadistic.



Yup. That definitely ruined my day. In other news the Vaticans spokeperson-preacher said the abuse allegations that the Pope and the church were receiving reminded him “of the most shameful aspects of anti-semitism”. I’m thinking: open mouth, insert foot. Let’s just say the Jews are not pleased.



Ever since moving to Dubai, I’ve kind of stayed out of the meat and bones of politics going on in America. Which is different for me but was definitely a yummy breather. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE politics- it’s just that I’ve been living and breathing all the vitriol for such a long time that, I was happy for the respite 

But that said, lets talk politics!

So the healthcare bill is now law. And of course with every unpopular law, there are those that will work to repeal it- which is exactly what the entire Republican party and a handful of identity-confused democrats are doing. Some states have joined together in a lawsuit against the government saying, the law over-reaches the powers of the government and cannot mandate states to follow it…anyone who ever came into contact with the constitution will know that this is complete bull$%#* and doesn’t have a chance of winning. So why would these governors and senators and congressmen go through the embarrassment of “suing” the government? Well the popular opinion is that they will lock in the conservative vote come the senate elections this November, 36 seats are up for grabs- well actually most of them don’t have real challengers but with the democrats only leading by a slim majority, one or two seats would swing the momentum. If you can call what the democrats are doing, momentum.

SO what exactly does this law do? Well in my opinion not even nearly as much as I want it to do, but some change is better than none.


1) Provides coverage to an estimated 30 million people who are currently NOT covered

2) Requires Americans who can afford it, to buy health insurance

3) Adds an additional 16 million people to Medicaid

4) Subsidizes private coverage for low and middle income people

5) Regulates private insurers:
    a) Bans: denial of care due to pre-existing conditions

6) Congressional Budget Office states that it will reduce the federal deficit by $138 billion


Yup. That’s the law in a nutshell- I mean the law is over 1000 pages with a bunch of other stuff in it but these are like the big building blocks of the bill. And the other stuff is super boring and I don’t feel like torturing you with it. I think I’ll save that for a rainy day. One thing I am interested in though, when the republicans start campaigning (who am I kidding, they’ve been campaigning since 2008)- are they going to run on the platform: “Repeal the healthcare LAW that insures 30 million more people and brings down the federal defecit!!! YEAH NO OBAMACARE- Oh and while we're at it lets kick off ALL THOSE OLD people that this law now covers under the expanded medicaid rules!!" If thats their platform, I don't think Obama should sweat it- but then again Americans are notoriously stupid so maybe....

Bloggah

I've decided that there are two ways I could look at what's going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A) with sadness an trepidation or B) like a very good Dan Brown novel. I think I'll go with B, I mean as long as I feel better right? ;p.
When I pick up the New York Times, I read the headlines like a 3D adventure that the media is taking me on. And whose to say I'm wrong? My views don't hurt anyone, they're just my opinion. Along the same lines, I voted for Obama-obviously-and I can tell you now what I will twenty years from now, I will vote for him again and again and again. Why? Because I would rather have a centrist, cerebral President than a "maverick" with a psycho right wing Vice President. You don't like Obama's policies? Let's take a stroll down the 'what if' lane, shall we? What if McCain and Palin won? What if instead of putting regulations on the financial sector, they didn't? And what if these financial institutions that were on the verge of collapsing, taking down our economy with them, were allowed to fail? What kind of America do you think we would be living in?? What if McCain followed the Bush Doctrine and decided a pre-emptive strike on Iran would solve all our problems? (bomb bomb bomb Iran, anyone?)
Ick. It's no fun traveling down the what if lane. So in conclusion, I don't regret my vote. I never will. Does that mean I love every decision this man has made?? NO. But it's still 100 times better than any decision the other man would have made!
Off to enjoy my New York Times!
Taa
snake charmer

Sent from my iPhone

Dear Mr. President,

Tomorrow night, President Obama is going to give a national speech at West Point in which he's going to either escalate the troops in Afghanistan or draw down. All signs point to the former, I know how I feel about this but found someone else who can articulate it better. This is Michael Moore's open letter to the President.

An Open Letter to President Obama from Michael Moore
Monday, November 30th, 2009
Dear President Obama,
Do you really want to be the new "war president"? If you go to West Point tomorrow night (Tuesday, 8pm) and announce that you are increasing, rather than withdrawing, the troops in Afghanistan, you are the new war president. Pure and simple. And with that you will do the worst possible thing you could do -- destroy the hopes and dreams so many millions have placed in you. With just one speech tomorrow night you will turn a multitude of young people who were the backbone of your campaign into disillusioned cynics. You will teach them what they've always heard is true -- that all politicians are alike. I simply can't believe you're about to do what they say you are going to do. Please say it isn't so.
It is not your job to do what the generals tell you to do. We are a civilian-run government. WE tell the Joint Chiefs what to do, not the other way around. That's the way General Washington insisted it must be. That's what President Truman told General MacArthur when MacArthur wanted to invade China. "You're fired!," said Truman, and that was that. And you should have fired Gen. McChrystal when he went to the press to preempt you, telling the press what YOU had to do. Let me be blunt: We love our kids in the armed services, but we f*#&in' hate these generals, from Westmoreland in Vietnam to, yes, even Colin Powell for lying to the UN with his made-up drawings of WMD (he has since sought redemption).
So now you feel backed into a corner. 30 years ago this past Thursday (Thanksgiving) the Soviet generals had a cool idea -- "Let's invade Afghanistan!" Well, that turned out to be the final nail in the USSR coffin.
There's a reason they don't call Afghanistan the "Garden State" (though they probably should, seeing how the corrupt President Karzai, whom we back, has his brother in the heroin trade raising poppies). Afghanistan's nickname is the "Graveyard of Empires." If you don't believe it, give the British a call. I'd have you call Genghis Khan but I lost his number. I do have Gorbachev's number though. It's + 41 22 789 1662. I'm sure he could give you an earful about the historic blunder you're about to commit.
With our economic collapse still in full swing and our precious young men and women being sacrificed on the altar of arrogance and greed, the breakdown of this great civilization we call America will head, full throttle, into oblivion if you become the "war president." Empires never think the end is near, until the end is here. Empires think that more evil will force the heathens to toe the line -- and yet it never works. The heathens usually tear them to shreds.
Choose carefully, President Obama. You of all people know that it doesn't have to be this way. You still have a few hours to listen to your heart, and your own clear thinking. You know that nothing good can come from sending more troops halfway around the world to a place neither you nor they understand, to achieve an objective that neither you nor they understand, in a country that does not want us there. You can feel it in your bones.
I know you know that there are LESS than a hundred al-Qaeda left in Afghanistan! A hundred thousand troops trying to crush a hundred guys living in caves? Are you serious? Have you drunk Bush's Kool-Aid? I refuse to believe it.
Your potential decision to expand the war (while saying that you're doing it so you can "end the war") will do more to set your legacy in stone than any of the great things you've said and done in your first year. One more throwing a bone from you to the Republicans and the coalition of the hopeful and the hopeless may be gone -- and this nation will be back in the hands of the haters quicker than you can shout "tea bag!"
Choose carefully, Mr. President. Your corporate backers are going to abandon you as soon as it is clear you are a one-term president and that the nation will be safely back in the hands of the usual idiots who do their bidding. That could be Wednesday morning.
We the people still love you. We the people still have a sliver of hope. But we the people can't take it anymore. We can't take your caving in, over and over, when we elected you by a big, wide margin of millions to get in there and get the job done. What part of "landslide victory" don't you understand?
Don't be deceived into thinking that sending a few more troops into Afghanistan will make a difference, or earn you the respect of the haters. They will not stop until this country is torn asunder and every last dollar is extracted from the poor and soon-to-be poor. You could send a million troops over there and the crazy Right still wouldn't be happy. You would still be the victim of their incessant venom on hate radio and television because no matter what you do, you can't change the one thing about yourself that sends them over the edge.
The haters were not the ones who elected you, and they can't be won over by abandoning the rest of us.
President Obama, it's time to come home. Ask your neighbors in Chicago and the parents of the young men and women doing the fighting and dying if they want more billions and more troops sent to Afghanistan. Do you think they will say, "No, we don't need health care, we don't need jobs, we don't need homes. You go on ahead, Mr. President, and send our wealth and our sons and daughters overseas, 'cause we don't need them, either."
What would Martin Luther King, Jr. do? What would your grandmother do? Not send more poor people to kill other poor people who pose no threat to them, that's what they'd do. Not spend billions and trillions to wage war while American children are sleeping on the streets and standing in bread lines.
All of us that voted and prayed for you and cried the night of your victory have endured an Orwellian hell of eight years of crimes committed in our name: torture, rendition, suspension of the bill of rights, invading nations who had not attacked us, blowing up neighborhoods that Saddam "might" be in (but never was), slaughtering wedding parties in Afghanistan. We watched as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were slaughtered and tens of thousands of our brave young men and women were killed, maimed, or endured mental anguish -- the full terror of which we scarcely know.
When we elected you we didn't expect miracles. We didn't even expect much change. But we expected some. We thought you would stop the madness. Stop the killing. Stop the insane idea that men with guns can reorganize a nation that doesn't even function as a nation and never, ever has.
Stop, stop, stop! For the sake of the lives of young Americans and Afghan civilians, stop. For the sake of your presidency, hope, and the future of our nation, stop. For God's sake, stop.
Tonight we still have hope.
Tomorrow, we shall see. The ball is in your court. You DON'T have to do this. You can be a profile in courage. You can be your mother's son.
We're counting on you.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. There's still time to have your voice heard. Call the White House at 202-456-1111 or email the President.

story of my life

Rep. Sue Myrick (R) of North Carolina
Rep. John Shadegg (R) of Arizona
Rep. Paul Broun (R) of Georgia
Rep. Trent Franks (R) of Arizona

What do these four Representatives have in common, other than the unfortunate choice in parties? They have all come out earlier this past week accusing CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) of planting spies in the House and Senate as interns and pages. So um, who are they supposed to be reporting back to? Oh no, not al Qaida! Because obviously no political action group secure coveted internship positions for their youth so that god forbid these kids could grow up to become politicians themselves! Oh wait, I thought thats what democracy and activism were called.

These charges, not only picked up by the right wing media, eager to disseminate some much wanted vitriol, but have also resulted in CAIR receiving death threats. Now given the record of inflammatory and racist remarks that ALL four of these Republicans have indulged in in the past, I wouldn't normally pay to attention to their nonsense, unfortunately i've been roped into caring by friends/family who make it a point to show me every day how America hates Muslims- and of course I know there are people in this society who want to annihilate Islam, but I like to think/believe that they are a very LOUD minority- kind of like al-Qaida, or the Tea Party Activists.

But I digress, these charges are founded on a so called CAIR "memo" gathered by Chris Gaubatz, son of Dave Gaubatz- the co-author of the "Muslim Mafia:  Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America." Very credible source. Obviously. No bias there. Remember Rep. Myrick, of North Carolina? She wrote the forward to this book. What happened to the days when Representatives would actually be DAMAGED by these kinds of associations?? I miss those days.

What the hell has happened to the Republican party? They used to actually have interesting arguments- not necessarily my viewpoint, but not CRAZY either! Now they seem to be the party of bigots spreading their hate of people who don't look/act like them or who don't hold the same "ideals" (yaaay for guns) as them. And all justifying it by claiming "Its in the constitution!", apparently these men/women have forgotten the whole point of the GD constitutioN! The pursuit of religious freedom! The chance for EVERYONE to pursue happiness!! But I guess, what can I expect from the party who voted FOR rape.

I'm sorry all of you Republicans out there, because I wasn't born white/christian/conservative- and apparently i'm not "American" enough for you.

CAIR's mission statement: CAIR's mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.     

Family does the Darnedest Things Friday

Ok So I'm thinking about starting a new segment on Fridays.
My Family does the the Darnedest Things..
Actually I think I'll make it into a Wednesday or Monday or even a Tuesday segment...we'll see.
But definitely not a Thursday...

Last week, Monday:

I'm late for my Doctor's appointment (as usual). Usually I drive down to clinic, whizzing down the freeway at, atleast 80 mph.
But that day I didn't have breakfast so I took a bowl of cereal with me to my car. My dad said he would drive for me.
So I said okay.
Then while I'm sitting in the passenger's seat (next to driver's seat) my Dad remembers a thousand other things he needs to grab before we leave. And while I'm watching the minutes tick by, I realize that with my brother's latest speeding ticket sprees, I'd be lucky if my dad would even touch the speed limit.

So I yell out to him that I'm going to drive, and start crawling into the driver's seat.
My dad, sees what I'm doing, yells no, and hurries over to get into the driver's seat.

And there we were, both of us, half onto the driver's seat, heads pushed against each other.

No seriously, we were in headbutt deadlock. He was half out of the car, and I was half on the passenger seat.

"But I can drive while eating!!" I said, while pushing his head

"No you're not!" He said, pushing my head back.

"But YOU can't drive!" I said, while using my one hand to push against the seat, to give me more force.

"Yes, I can" He said, using the driver's door to get more force.

"No. You can't !"

And my dad pushes my head just enough, "Yes I can"
And I backed away.

And there you go. My family just decided dominance for the driver's seat, the same way a ram or a goat does.

My family is funny.



P.S. Ahmadinejad(The current President of Iran) compared Obama to Bush, and said that Obama owes him an apology. And for what? For criticizing the way Iran's government are handling its protestors. I think Obama is doing a great job at not getting involved but still saying what he thinks is wrong and why he thinks it's wrong.

Just my $0.0299999998

It always interests me to find Muslims that describe themselves as "liberal" or "conservative" or identify with one political party or another... or classify themselves by the accepted political and economic dispositions.


Some corporatist white fat guy in a suit, or neo-feminazi chick (I made that up but think of the evil psychologist, Dr. Faxx from Robocop 2) came up with new phrases like, "moderate muslim" and "secular Muslim", "civil democratic blah blah" and I see people buy right into it. 'Separation syndrome' or something, if you will.

It ought to be noted though, that Islam is a complete religion that lays out guidelines for every aspect of life, including the socio-economic-political realm. As God in the Qur'an said to His beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and to us: "This day I have completed your religion for you, fulfilled My favor upon you, and have chosen for your way of life, Islam." (5:3). Today we have a distorted picture of it all, thinking that "islamic governments" are just characterized by oppressing and punishing women and hindering technological advancement (ironically it is the civilized West that keeps bombing countries back to the stone age, but that's another story). It is widely ignored and forgotten that once upon a time, an Islamic Empire existed, once a meritocratic government that created prosperity and destroyed the gap between the rich and poor through mandatory charity (a time existed when you couldn't find a single poor person in North Africa), used taxes for public services alone(!), and led the world in advancement. This empire came to a gradual decline through outside and inner corruption (root cause: greed <--worth clicking), until the empire fell and was divided into the borders we see today, upon the close of World War I. Well, despite the misrepresentations of Islam-based governance and economics, I make it known that this is where I lie;

• Political views: Muslim
• Economic ideology: Muslim

This in turn gives me the belief that ALL of today's economic and political problems can be solved by restoring moral legitimacy in our systems.

Anyway, I really just wanted to share an excerpt about economics in Islam (you know, just in case you thought "islamists" were a bunch of commies or somethin'):

In Islam the market is to be free and permitted to respond to the natural laws of supply and demand. Thus, when the prices became high in the Prophet's time and people asked him to fix prices for them, he replied, God is the One Who fixes prices, Who withholds, Who gives lavishly, and Who provides, and I hope that when I meet Him none of you will have a claim against me for any injustice with regard to blood or property. (Reported by Ahmad, Abu Daoud, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, al-Dari and Abu Y'ala.)

With these words the Prophet of Islam (peace be on him) declared that unnecessary interference in the freedom of individuals is injustice. If, however, any artificial forces, such as hoarding and manipulation of prices by certain merchants, interfere in the free market, public interest takes precedence over the freedom of such individuals. In such a situation price control becomes permissible to protect society from greedy opportunists, for the above hadith [prophetic tradition/narrative] does not mean that price control is prohibited regardless of the circumstances.

If price control compels people to sell their goods at a price which is not acceptable to them or denies them the reasonable profit permitted by God, it is haram [prohibited/unlawful]. If, on the other hand, price control establishes equity among people, for example, by forcing sellers to accept a price equal to that commanded by other comparable commodities, it is allowed—and necessary.

The hadith cited above relates to the first type of situation. Accordingly, if merchants are selling a commodity in the customary fashion without any wrong-doing on their part and the price subsequently rises due to the scarcity of the commodity or due to an increase in population (indicating the operation of the law of supply and demand), this circumstance is from God, in which case to force them to sell the commodity at a fixed price would be unjust compulsion.

In relation to the second type of situation, should the dealers in a commodity refuse to sell it, despite the fact that people are in need of it, unless they secure a price higher than its known value, they must be compelled to sell it at a price equal to the price of an equivalent commodity. Price control here is in conformity with the standard of justice demanded by God. (Refer to Risalat al-hisbah by Ibn Taimiyyah, as well as to Al-turuq al-hikmiyyah by Ibn al-Qayyim, p. 214 ff.)

Source:
"The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam" - Yusuf Al-Qaradawi ( <- I don't agree with the entire book's/author's message on other issues, but the excerpted part will do.. although the author conveniently ignores the issue below... hm)

It should also be noted that in addition to establishing free trade, Islam prohibits all forms of usury (what we call "interest"). Today's global economy is an interest-based economy. This is a widely accepted, and widely ignored problem that burdens society. In Islam, usury is seen as a false way of multiplying wealth at the expense of the poor who often can't pay it back. Eliminating interest from the system shortens the disparity between the rich and poor- this gap is continuously increasing in today's interest-based world. Such a measure also reduces distortion in the projected prosperity of a country (*ahem* e.g. America)-- leading to increased unemployment, debt, false inflation, and recession. Eliminating interest would also put the legitimacy back into the value of money as "a medium of exchange for real goods and services, [which, through interest] becomes increasingly usurped by the rising significance as means of accumulation of might. This [power] is not subject to any 'falling marginal utility'; the might over the compound interest mechanism can be built up without expense beyond every limit" (quote from http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~roehrigw/probst/english/aberrations.html).

Central to Islamic economics is the effort to limit the illusion that money is 'power' (whereas money is merely a means for trading things of use), through prohibition of interest, hoarding, and stressing the moral obligations of human beings to avoid debts and dishonesty.
In fact, the longest verse in the Qur'an (2:282) concerns transactions and debts!

The Qur'an on interest (a few of many references)*:

And eat up not one another's property unjustly (stealing, robbing, deceiving, etc.), nor give bribery to the rulers (judges before presenting your cases) that you may knowingly eat up a part of the property of others sinfully (2:188).

"O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah [God], even though it be against yourselves, or your parents or [family], be he rich or poor, Allah is a Better Protector to both (than you). So follow not your own lusts, lest you may avoid justice, and if you distort your witness or refuse to give it, verily, God is ever well acquainted with what you do." (4:135)

And this must constantly be reflected on:

"Whatever you pay as interest so that it may increase the wealth of people does NOT increase in the sight of GOD. As for the charity that you give, seeking with it God's good pleasure, that is multiplied manifold."(Qur'an 30:39)


Today I see this situation loud and clear, and I provoke you towards charity as a wise investment. I also wish to provoke the Muslim readers to scale in as "Muslim" on the so-called economic compass. Or at least, I hope this turned out to be some good food for thought! Just imagine... Imagine no possessions/ I wonder if you can/ No need for greed or hunger/ a brotherhood of man./ Imagine all the people/ sharing all the world. /You may say that I'm a dreamer... lol

Thanks, whoever made it this far!




*Another striking verse is 2:278

I do not eat green eggs and ham.I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

This week is Dr. Seuss' birthday.

I never really understood why certain people got their birthday celebrated for a week and got all sorts of recognition. While others just have to settle for one measly schmeasly day.


Actually now that I think about it, sometimes it seems like my friends and I are celebrating each others birthdays for like months since we don't actually do anything for that particular individual until five months later. Never the day of. But in all actuality, we are just really, really busy people and don't get the time to celebrate the day of. Either that, or we're too lazy. Or broke. Or both.


But that's neither important nor relevant to Dr. Seuss.

So moving along to the point: this week I was reading one of his books: Fox on Socks to one of my precious students. While reading the book, I was getting irritated because 1. The kid wasn't listening to me and 2. While reading it, I kept thinking that it made no sense.


Later on in the day after reading that book to the annoying kid, I was complaining to a coworker of mine about how Dr. Seuss books are pointless and how I couldn't believe that someone got paid to write stuff like that and then go on becoming as famous as he did. And really rich. While ranting to my co-worker, another co-worker jumps in and says that Dr. Seuss' books do make sense and each book has a hidden message about various issues that go on in the world. Or went on in the world.

I didn’t see how that was possible. So she went on to explain to me that some of his books deal with racism and environmentalism and ethnocentrism and all sorts of isms.

I didn’t believe her.

So I wikipediaed it. (I heart wikipedia. It has like EVERYTHING. And I don't understand why it's not considered a scholarly source to use when writing umm scholarly-ish papers)

And it turns out she’s right.

According to Wikipedia:

Many of Dr. Seuss's books are thought to express his views on a myriad of social and political issues: The Lorax (1971), about environmentalism and anti-consumerism; The Sneetches (1961), about racial equality; The Butter Battle Book (1984), about the arms race; Yertle the Turtle (1958), about anti-fascism and anti-authoritarianism; How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957), about anti-materialism; and Horton Hears a Who! (1954), about anti-isolationism and internationalism.^[11][9]

And here is an example from one of his books Yertle the Turtle. As stated earlier, this story is thought to have been about anti-authoritarianism:

And today the great Yertle, that Marvelous he,
Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see.
And the turtles, of course... all the turtles are free
As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.

Alas! What would we do without Wiki.

Seriously who would’ve thought.

So I do apologize to Dr. Seuss and any die hard Dr. Seuss fans out there for doubting his writing style and mocking his work and accusing him of making absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Do forgive my ignorance.

And in honor of him and his birthday I wanted to share some of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes. (Quotes that aren’t necessarily from his books, but inspirational nonetheless)

• “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
• “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own.
  And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.”
• Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
• “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than you.”
• Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

Water in the boat is the ruin of the boat, but water under the boat is its support.

Water in the boat is the ruin of the boat, but water under the boat is its support., originally uploaded by Rabujee.

Three of President Obama's nominees for cabinet so far have been found evading taxes.

The financial giant, Wells Fargo, which our government bailed out earlier this year, was now caught planning
a lavish retreat to Las Vegas. I didn't get to hear on the news what their excuse was, but I heard they tried to justify it.

A man by the name of Madoff, pulled an outrageous "Punk'd" on the investor market. Over the past decade he amassed over $50 billion dollars in investments with fraudulent intentions. I love practical jokes but I'm not laughing Mr. Madoff.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, despite repeatedly recieving whistle-blower tips, never investigated into Madoff's scheme. They are proud, however, that they've recovered $1 billion of the stolen money. Woop-ti-doo.

While Wall Street suffers dramatic losses, executives soar high, recently awarded $18.2 billion in bonuses. Who decides this stuff?

Looks like these big guys and girls in Washington, New York, and God knows every corner of this blessed Earth, are the water in OUR boat.

Yes we can?

If you don't stand up for something, you end up standing for nothing..., originally uploaded by Rabujee.

Its been a long day ya'll what with all the history being made... I don't know about you but I am so tired!

As everyone knows, today was the super-hyped up Inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama. I was a bit bummed to be at work through it, I really wanted to watch his oath and speech...lucky for me our IT director hooked us up!!

Sitting in a conference room at noon I, along with a dozen or so of my co-workers, watched streaming video over the internet of the much anticipated event.

I had a lot of mixed emotions. For one, I was kind of antsy to hear his words and wondered if today I would finally get a glimpse into what he REALLY has to offer. Obviously, I felt happy to be able to witness a change-over that would go down in the books/movies/documentaries. It's like one of those "Where were you when..." events that you get to tell your children and grand-children later in life. I was happy to see the previous administration go and I was happy to see a new president that was the image of change. Amidst all this weird pride/enthusiasm I felt a whole lot of uncertainty.

You see, I'm neither a die hard fan of his nor am I a "hater" (sorry couldn't think of a better word) , I just feel indifferent about him. I feel extremely happy for what his coming into power symbolizes for this country, but as THE leader, I'm not sure yet what I feel for him specifically.

So at the end of today, one thought keeps coming into my mind and that is, if I were to meet Barack Obama, what is the ONE question I would want to ask of him? And the first thing that pops into my mind is:

*Clears throat*
"Mr. Obama, I'm not sure what your statisticians told you, but I can assure you that countless Muslim Americans supported you/helped bring you to your success, and recognize you as a great potential for change. Still most of us feel we have not been a part of the demographic, nor are we mentioned in the same respect as other minority groups (Latinos, African Americans, etc.). With that in mind, what will you do for Muslim Americans in this country, i.e. how will you better our situation and help at least recognize us as minorities that are VERY much a growing part of this nation?"

Hmm I wonder what he would answer.

So tell me readers, if you were given the chance to ask the new president JUST one question, what would yours be?

India's September 11

Mumbai, India

More than 170 people confirmed dead. 300 wounded.

For 60 hours there was shooting, explosions, and hostages held by several gunmen.

For India, it was September 11.

India's government officials want to name Pakistan, its neighboring country, as the perpetrator. But the country is refraining from saying this outright, worried about ruining the efforts made to bring the countries together, which would also end the 5-year cease fire.
Pakistan's government has completely denied its involvement in the attacks and even vowed to take action against any group that was involved.

The attacks were ruthless and undiscriminating. The internet has disquieting descriptions of the events and pictures of areas splattered with blood, shattered windows, chaotic scenes, and mourners of those who are dead.

People are angry. Why did it take an entire three hours to mount a rescue operation? How was it possible for only 10 men to take control of so many different locations for an entire three days?

I would also like to know exactly what the heck WAS going on while children, grandparents, parents, tourists, Hindus, Jews, Christians, Muslims and everyone else, who was going about their life expecting nothing more than the frustrating traffic of India, were being murdered left and right?

And I'm not just talking about the rescue operation. I'm also talking about the gunmen who I can only picture as soul-devoid, brain washed individuals, emotionless, creatures. Most of you have seen the eerie picture of the one gunman who seemed to have been smiling while shooting at something. It's the type of picture that haunts you at night.

What were they thinking? No way could they be enjoying that. Didn't they feel anything? Did they feel or think at all? Should I be pitying them? What if they were forced to do what they were doing? Am I a monster for assuming that they are monsters? But then again, what about ones who are the victims? I'm sometimes afraid to think about them. To think about the pain of the survivors and the relatives of the victims is despairing. To think about the lives lost, their thoughts and fears is painful and frightening.

Then there's my emotion of fear. I'm afraid of the backlash Muslims in India are going to face. Religious riots in India can be as bloody and as undiscriminating as this bloodshed. Not to mention they can be common. I'm afraid of the backlash Pakistan is going to face. Pakistan's government or any of its normal citizens would never condone any such acts. But that won't matter, not with India and Pakistan's history, Pakistan's some what unstable security, India's corruption and India's almost innate distaste for Pakistan. Then I'm afraid for the Muslims of the world. All those Muslims who are trying so hard to work against all the bloodshed and violence, which are now automatically linked with Islam. They now have another item that can be added to the list of reasons others fear them, refuse to associate with them, are disgusted with them, despise them.

You know you feel it too sometimes. Well guess what. We feel it too. We feel the pain as well when people are killed. Only for us its extra, we feel the pain for the lives lost, then we feel the pain of seeing our religion twisted and deformed. And then we feel the pain of other Muslims facing the consequences.But the rest of the world doesn't care. We're not foreign or inhumane like you may think. And we see your reactions, your looks. We know when you don't want to be around us because of our religion. We know when you make those dirty comments, and don't give a damn.

Like when I said Muslims were killed. You were like "Yeah right you just wanna say that because you're Muslim." But no it's true Muslims were victims too.But you won't believe me. India holds a HUGE Hindu majority but India also holds the second largest Muslim population in a country. Yes, the second largest. Muslims in India are the largest minority and these Muslims are proud to be Indian . I would know, since I'm also Indian.

And do people care that Muslim countries, and Muslims from all across the world have condemned the attacks? Yet the news would rather mention those couple of idiots that are fine, and encourage the mass murders. Then there are those who say that they have yet to see a popular condemnation from Muslims for these kind of attacks.

Well if you haven't seen it yet, here's one.

On behalf of EVERY Muslim in the world old, young, traditional, liberal, American, Indian, Saudi Arabian, Afghani, Pakistani, Chinese, Mexican and everyone here on the blog

I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for your loss.
I'm sorry for your pain. I'm sorry for your fears. I'm sorry you haven't heard me say sorry before.
I'm sorry I'm not there helping you.
Helping you heal, encouraging you, telling you it'll be okay.
Do I expect you to say you have nothing to be sorry about?
No I don't, but I'll still do it anyways.

We feel the sadness for a life lost too.
We would never be okay with those acts.
And we hate what happened to you. We hate what happened to them. We pray it gets better. And that it gets better soon.
Islam teaches compassion, we want you to know that.

And we pray you understand that we meant every word we said.

Celebrate small (and BIG!) victories

So Barack Obama is the next president of the United States of Freaking America!! Everyone and their mama posted about this. Except me. So now its my turn. Here I go (a bit late, but here nonetheless)...

One of my sisters was seriously hyperventilating when she found out. My parents, whom never ever watch T.V., were glued to it for three hours straight. Watching his acceptance speech and what not. My students at school couldn't stop talking about it and at the mention of his name, they would start screaming, cheering, and clapping. People all over the world were holding their own mock elections for the USA 2008 presidential election where Obama usually ended up being their "president of choice". Basically everyone is on an Obama high.

And obviously this is a big freaking deal.

I voted for the first time in my life during this election (I was registered for the other one, but chose not to participate *shrugs shoulder*) and couldn't stop smiling when thinking about it. And I even wore red, white and blue and my "My vote counts" sticker all day. I'm cheesy like that.

At school, the brats participated in a mock election and voted for either McCain or Obama. 100% voted for Obama. And one of the students suggested that we have a party in honor and to celebrate this momentous occasion. I'm sad to say, no one took that kid seriously.

(We so should've though! Unfortunately Ms.D didnt show up that day and I had to substitute them all by myself and I really didnt think we were allowed to do that, but I did give them a chance to scream and clap when they heard the results of our mock election.)

But that kid was right. We should celebrate .Not only should we celebrate that we have the very first African American as our new president, but also celebrate that he is a man who is telling us (and hopefully will do for us) what we have been waiting for, for eight extremely long years.

And even if we don't agree with some of his policies (not gonna get into that right now), it's much better than what others were offering. Am I right? or Am I right?

So be grateful and celebrate!

Celebrate the fact that Obama won.

Celelebrate that George Dubya will be out of office soon.

Celebrate that there will be no more campaign commercials disrupting your favorite television shows.

Celebrate your vote making a difference.

Celebrate the first African American as head of state and head of government.

Celebrate the future of America and the rest of the world.

Celebrate that we won't have an idiot as president or vice president.

Celebrate history in the making.

Celebrate those low gas prices. (I know I am!)

And lastly, celebrate (and hope for) change.

Because this is one change, that even I am hoping for and looking forward to.

I Voted...

I Voted..., originally uploaded by Rabujee.

All I want to say is, never in the history of my short life on this planet, have I been this anxious for an election and by God I am so glad its finally over.
Also, I can't help but rejoice at the thought of finally saying bye bye to Dubya. I thought this day would never come...well it hasn't yet. What say we start a countdown? It'll be like the premier of High School Musical 3 all over again...( by the way, I still don't know what that movie is all about I just know people did count downs).

=)

*Edited* Wow, didn't realize we already had so many posts on voting. Hehe.

Obama obama obama O O O Obama

"WOW
Um... I Don't know what to say. This is a great honor. I think I really am a bit too awesome. I knew my powers from Krypton would come in handy for burning down precincts that had votes for McCain.
I want to say, that the name, "That One" will be now handed down to my soon to be forgotten running mate John. No offense John, you were a tough and worthy opponent, and I admire you for being able to hold your own especially when you have a one in three chance of dying. But seriously John, thank you, for everything you have done for this country and will continue doing, and being an excellent running mate, choosing Palin as a running mate to help me further ensure victory. And of course thank you for being nicer than Hillary.
And to the American Public, and all my supporters, from now on you can call me PRESIDENT CHANGE. Seriously, somebody tell the guy who will be announcing me as the President of the Unites States of American as YesWecan Change. Oh I can't? Maybe just the middle name? Then what about Joe? Even he got to change the rest of his name to 'The Plumber ' "

Atleast that's how I think Obama's speech should sound like. Dude has just been declared as the President of the Free World.

I should remove my previous post.


I still might move to Space depending on the rest of my life.

Ahhh the elections !!!!

Hi everyone,

So I'm tired, and I want to go to bed already, even though it's only 10 pm. I have a ton of school work I could and should do, but the only thing circulating my mind right now are the elections.

Is it gonna be Obama? Will it be McCain?

Sigh. And whoever it does turn out to be, I feel bad for them. They have to take on being the president of one of the most hated countries in the world (according to everybody else, not me), fix the declining economy, keep both liberals and conservatives happy, and sometimes put aside feelings for what they think is right and do what they have to do, even if it means taking the side of the wrong party, because a lot of the times, their hands are tied.

So I'm scared that Obama might lose.

Then I'm scared if he does win, he'll make the wrong decisions or everyone will be extremely critical of everything he does, and people everywhere will be disappointed with him. Don't even get me started on the hopes Muslims and the rest of the world have for him. If he knew, I think he would crumble under the pressure. Take this interesting article for example.

The next four years I think will be very interesting.

OH and depressingly, one thing this election opened my eyes to was the prevalence, and even in certain areas flourishing cases, of racism, ignorance and discrimination in the U.S.
For whatever reason, five years ago I thought America didn't have serious problems concerning the above three. Then I found out that they still existed, from my English teacher. But then I reasoned it's probably contained to those remote areas and random cases. This year I discovered I was wrong, again.

I'm moving to Space.