Humanitarian Day October 12, 2006

Salamaat,

I got this from Koonj’s site; it is definitely a worthy cause. Check it out and participate if you are in any of those areas. May God’s blessings be with you.

This Sunday Oct. 15th 2006, 10am-2pm, in Washington DC, New York, Detroit, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Jose, Los Angeles and Boston, Islamic Relief will hold Humanitarian Day.

Clothing, hygiene packs, gloves, blankets and other provisions will be distributed to the homeless free of charge from the Muslim community.

The organizers have all the goods available for distribution, but they need volunteers to do the distributing. They ask that you come out for a couple of hours “to be part of this national event in which we will show the nation what Islam is truly about.”

Charity Art Auction for Muslim Women October 3, 2006

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

Below is a note from Sister Kelly at the Islamic Artists Yahoo Group, about a worthy act of charity and kindness for all you artists out there, or those that would like to contribute artwork. 

Salaam Alaikum guys and gals:

I hope your Ramadan is going wonderfully!

I just wanted to let you know about a sadaqa-art opportunity.  There is an organization in Central Texas  that is looking for artwork donations.  They want to auction off your works to raise money.  Here is their website http://www.ctmuslimaat.org/index.html  They are using the money to help battered and abused Muslims and to promote social activism amongst Muslim women in the central Texas community. 

If you don’t mind sparing a piece of work, you can email Sister Adeela Gill at agill@ctmuslimaat.org  for more info.  It’s a great way to spread some baraka in the month of Ramadan and to bring wider exposure to your work.  The day of the show will be November 18th, 2006 and you can tell her Sister Kelly sent ya!

Ya Haqq!

The Magic we weave September 28, 2006

 

“Ma’am can we help you?” two young boys, still hanging on precariously on the brink of childhood and puberty approached my mom. Big silver necklaces adorning their necks; matching ear rings; and baggy jerseys symbols of their growth spurt. Their voices still withheld a certain sweet cadence that bore no inkling of the embarrassing fragmentation that announces adolescence with its jarring jumps from tenor to bass.

 

My mom, wearing a long black cloak, her head scarf, was struggling with a carton of water on one hand; and two cakes on the other. “Of course, please do!” My mom sighed gratefully.

 

They relieved her of her baggage; and shyly escorted her to the Iftaar dinner (break of fast) being hosted in the local elementary school.

 

Mom thanked them profusely and ran to pray Maghrib.

 

They hovered around the door, kind of peeking in half awe and half fear at what was going on.

 

After the prayers and everyone settling to eat their food; mom noticed them at the door. She went up to them and invited them to break fast with us.

 

“No! we are too shy”

 

“It’s okay, come on…no one will mind”

 

They haggled a bit and finally compromised to let mom bring them out some plates of food. She hated to let them eat outside; but it was a pretty night and they insisted they enjoyed the cool shade of the stars much better.

My little son kept running out to talk blab to them. They indulged him. My sister went in and out serving them cake, drinks, and taking care of their “order”. I went out to get Sufyan over and over again (I didn’t want him to wander to the road); and we shared snippets of conversation back and forth. It was fun.

Perhaps it was the glamour of the occasion that drew them or the strangeness of it all; later they worked up courage to walk inside.

 

I laughed because their whole demeanor transported me back to the tingling excitement of my yesteryears. When I was around their age in Kenya, I was leaving school with my cousin; when we came across the new impressive temple belonging to “Free Masons”. The building was enormous, made of severe slabs of grey concrete, looking as ancient as time itself. There were huge stair cases leading up to a gigantic intricately carved door with large gold door handles.

 

It wasn’t so much the sheer magnitude of the building that awed us; but what secrets lay yonder. There were ominous rumors of Devil worshipping, human sacrificing, blood-fest ceremonies performed at midnight with all the leaders of the world present; and every single person in power having some sort of connection to the order (secret handshakes and everything).

 

No one had to warn us never to go near that place; kids stayed away of their own accord. But of course the lure of adventure was always calling. That fateful day, we passed by and all my incorrigibly mischievous cousin had to do was look at me.

 

“You don’t dare!” He threw those words with careless abandon on the table; the way a poker winner must when holding a winning hand.

 

“Pshh!” I exclaimed “I don’t have anything to prove to you kuro!” Kuro was the worst possible insult to tell a boy; it meant a plaintive wuss.

 

“Fine, do you want to go together?” He asked baiting me to say no, so it can just prove what a wuss I was.

 

“Sure” as nonchallant as the tremor in my voice could allow.

 

We walked up those endless steps and used the heavy knocker to attract attention of whatever lay yonder.

An African man dressed in a white cassock and bit white hat stood at the door and politely said “Please come in. The ONE has been expecting you.”

 

 

That was enough! We tore down the stairs screaming and ran as fast as our legs (and heavy book bags) could allow us. We were convinced that the “one” was of course the “devil” and he was just waiting to feast on us.

 

The heart pounding, stomach jolting, excitement of that adventure was worth retelling (with relish and embellishments of course) to every other kid who was just dying with envy at our heroism and near death experience.

 

So when those two sparkling boys yesterday, Scott and Darrell, proposed to come in and grab some soda. I was all for it!

 

“Please come in!” I encouraged them.

 

They walked tentatively inside, their bodies trembling with suppressed excitement.

 

Some people stopped eating to watch them in interest, curiosity, others a bit bothered by it; others still went on eating not paying attention to them.

 

Within minutes they committed their first cultural faux pas (and it was entirely my fault for I should I have prepped them).

They stepped on the praying area, where rugs and carpets were laid out carefully with their shoes on!

Before I could react and I was literally frozen in a slow motion pane a chorus of “Shoes! Shoes!” went up.

I managed to navigate Scott and Darrell all the way to the Soda stand, explaining to them the whole taking-off-shoes etiquette; without any other major mishaps. As they were drinking, I could note their hands shaking, Scott was all red and blushing and Darrell was curiously looking at everyone around over the rim of his cup.

 

I asked them to hang out but they politely declined and walked out in the cool embrace of the distant night.As we were cleaning up, they called me and offered to help clean up and carry stuff to the cars.

 

I told them they didn’t have to but they can join us any time!

 

They said thank you and they enjoyed the food; and it was fun.

 

I wanted to hug and kiss them both; but feared freaking them out; so I just kind of waved and Sufyan was running after them as they walked away.

 

Thank you Scott and Darrell; for bringing with you a little piece of those days when life seemed so full of possibilities and everything was an adventure just waiting to unfold.

 

May God’s love, Mercy, and Peace be with you always!

Letter to the Imam who gave a short Khutbah last night September 27, 2006

Assalamu Alaykum,

My family and I started to come to Taraweeh and partake in Iftar with the community.It has been such an uplifting exprience for us and for that we would like to thank all the people who have put so much work in pulling the nightly events off so seamlessly. I understand the logistics are complicated but Mashaallah you are all doing an awesome job. May Allah bless you continually and reward you for all your hardwork.

 

Last night, I managed to attend Taraweeh child-free, courtesy of my husband who in his infinite compassion has agreed to split the Taraweeh nights between us; so that we can both have our (much needed) share of spiritual upliftment and the rewards of congregational prayers as well as the break a mother sorely needs to be able to focus and pray without interruption (which is not likely to happen at home with a toddler). Since the Prophet (SAW) prayed both at home and at the Masjid; his example only inspired my husband more.

 

Yesterday, I was really looking forward to the talk and the inspiration I usually get from that. But one thing you said in your reminder to sisters especially made me really concerned.

 

You had mentioned the necessity of dressing modestly, which I agree with; without any question. In a country that glorifies the objectification of women, I find it awesome to have a channel to resist that; and to be able to interact with the wider society without baring my body and making my presence charged with sexual innuendos. I find the obligation for Muslim women to dress modestly, actually frees me to be able to have interactions and outline the boundaries of my relationships with men before even opening my mouth.

 

But, as you were amplifying on the necessity for modesty; I felt that you took it too far in stating that wearing Niqab/burqa is even better. I honestly couldn’t believe you make that statement for the following reasons:

 

a) My dear brother, although you insisted that you understand the struggle of Muslim women in Western countries; the statement above drove home the point that you really have no idea what we go through. I watched you, sitting there, with your modest beard, your casual T-shirt and jeans…telling us that our Jihad lies in completely covering ourselves head to foot and literally sealing any possibility of our interaction with the wider society.

 

You could be anyone; walking down the street, young, jean clad man with an accent…nothing distinguishes you from the regular “joe”; perhaps a little foreign, an immigrant for sure, but that’s where it stops. Do you really understand what it is like for a woman, in the current climate of Islamophobia and the tensions we live in, to walk out just in Hijab and modest clothes, not to add the incredibly jarring appearance of Niqab/burqa? Do you really understand the visceral reaction of loathing we inspire in other people?

 

b)Sentiments of Jihad: Yes, I understand your response maybe, “Yes sister, but that’s your Jihad to deal with that hate and who cares they are Kuffar and in the end you are the victorious one”. But I disagree with that sentiment completely.

 

By prescribing my Jihad/struggle to be in the realm of dress ONLY you have already suffocated me. You have already determined that my only place in this western society is to simply show the “others” how different I am. There is no hope for ever reaching out to anyone out there; and the fear I will generate is understandable. Even some Muslim women find Niqabis a little intimidating. Do you realize how depressingly isolating that idea is?

 

c) Going back to the Quran; one of my dear and favorite ayahs in there states: “: The Believers, men and women, are protectors one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practice regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise.”(9:71)

 

How are supposed to accomplish the goal of enjoining good and forbidding evil if we our entrance to society is sealed before we even walk out the door?

 

We are mothers; how can we make sure our children grow up to be responsible, conscientious citizens of this world, when we are not a part of this world at all?

How are we supposed to interact with the school systems, work in voluntary organizations, better this society that we are a part of (and that we have an obligation to better it; in the same way that we are evidently benefiting from it).

 

How can we participate in outreach activities and open doors of dialogue with other people; if we are content to be “different” and that’s where the struggle ends?

 

d) I understand some women choose to wear Niqab and I totally respect them and support them in their choice. But at the same time, this can not and should not be an imposition to every Muslim woman. We all have different goals and different struggles within the larger struggle of obeying God. To me, participating actively in this society is as much an obligation on me as is any other form of worship. Some people prefer the solitude of exclusion and that’s their prerogative.

 

e) You said Niqab is not a cultural phenomenon: but I also disagree. In Saudi Arabia, I chose to wear Niqab because it freed me from harassment and it provided me with the safety of being able to walk around freely without having men ogle me.

 

But in this country, wearing Niqab only puts you in the spotlight and opens you up for harassment.

 

Yes, the sentiment is “If you look jarringly different you might open doors of communication and do Dawah” but I don’t want my dawah to be limited to simply matters of dress.

 

We have huge problems in the Ummah and the least of which is women not dressing modestly enough.

 

Have you watched the news lately? Do you hear about brothers in Gitmo, about wars launched in our name, about hunger in Darfur, about the rise of homelessness, joblessness, addictions in our own backyards? There are global problems with the environment, with exploitation and injustices/mischief spreading all over the earth…Are you content as a Muslim to turn away from all these issues and pin down the struggle to my mode of dress? Are we seriously that simplistic?

 

Do you realize you are narrowing me down and politicizing my existence in the same detrimental way the Media and politicians do?

 

f) While I can sit there and process your words; there was a convert woman dressed impeccably with her Hijab and Overcoat, looking extremely modest. But when you said those words, I could only imagine what impact that would have on her.

 

I am repeating myself; do you realize how hard it is to be a Muslim woman in America today? How much harder it is to leave ones family, society, and gradient and embrace Islam only to be isolated from life itself?

 

g) The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) always without fail, leaned more towards ease. When there was two options and both were equally good he would choose the easier path to make religion gentle; NOT a burden on her adherents. When we opt for excessively harsh measures to prove our piety, we are end up only hurting our souls; and that hurt manifests itself in being harsh to others. I miss the Prophet (Peace be upon him) dearly. I miss him, because only he seemed to be intent on truly liberating the soul (whether male or female) and only he seemed to truly internalize the beauty of this deen. It’s not to confine, to prove through symbolic means what our piety is; but to truly strive to serve humanity, make a difference in this world, and do it all with the intent of pleasing Allah; in the beautiful manner He instructs us to do so.

 

Wearing Niqab and wearing Hijab/dressing modestly are two options; for most struggling women like me, wearing Hijab/dressing modestly offers us the ideal balance of being able to make inroads in this society while proudly adhering and representing our faith (what better way to counter the myth of women being oppressed in Islam?).

 

Wearing Niqab in the West is a choice some women make and I love them and support them in that choice fully. But that choice should not be imposed on everyone else; especially if it will hinder our growth as a community here.

 

I know how easy it is to dismiss my words as another “lost soul” or another “progressive wanna-be-voice” of Islam. I am neither. The multifold terms of progressive, traditionalist, extremist make absolutely no sense to me. I am a Muslim, a woman, a global soul struggling to better myself, my surroundings and worship God. I only pray that in the spirit of all that is auspicious in this month that you will at least reflect upon these words and at best give a clarification on the lecture you gave yesterday; for the sake of all that is good about this deen.

 

The last thing; you mentioned about the necessity of keeping children at home during Taraweeh; which I totally agree with; it’s late for most children and past their bedtime and they should not be running around while others are praying. Perhaps, you can mention the possibility of brothers allowing their wives the space and time to come to Taraweeh a couple of times a week; so that other mothers out there can also benefit from the awesome rewards this month offers us?

 

And yes I know that a woman’s prayer is best done at home; but when the home is filled with work to do and children running around, it is hard to find that peace that being in a congregation affords. If you encourage men to help their wives; coming from you it might inspire one or two of them to afford their wives the luxury of praying in peace. I pray you take these words to heart too.

 

Again, I meant no offense by my statements above. I just pray that we are all guided and that if I am wrong; may Allah forgive me and May He show us all a better and higher path of goodness and righteousness (amin).

 

May the peace and blessings of this month be showered upon you (amin).

 

Your sister,

Maliha.

 

 

Salamaat,

 

A rather depressing update. Click here.

“Kill” them with Kindness September 25, 2006

Salamaat,

This was submitted by a dear brother of mine, Hanif Rehman…

 

Not sure whether you’d want to add this but I was thinking of random acts of kindness today. I took my angels(daughters) to the local park, since the day was bright and beautiful. Sadly when we got to the local park it was still damp with pools of rain and mud where it had rained heavily the night before.

 

In the park there were a number of young kids, just milling around, one of them was had his hands outstretched and the others were comforting him. I asked what the problem was and they said his cut his hands and needs some aid.

 

I asked him would you like to come to my house but he said no, I said ok I’ll bring you some wipes and band aid. Couple of minutes later I bought the wipes round and band aid. The kids took them off my hands gleefully, they must have said ‘Thank you’ for a continuous minute or two. I thanked Allah that he made me do an act that seemed so small yet who knows Yes they were white kids and not Muslims, and I do live in an area where you can say that there is some tension in the air. The July bombings we had in London last year, well one of the ring leaders came from Dewsbury, hardly surprising if people feel a little uneasy.

 

Hanif Rehman is Director of Muslim Professionals UK  at http://www.muslimprofessionals.org.uk/

I hope this never happens again… September 24, 2006

Salaams everyone,

First, let me start off by saying Ramadhan Mubaraks to everyone. I hope the blessings of the month will be numerous for all of us and our families. May our fasts be pleasant and accepted and may Allah not overburden us. Ameen.

So its been an interesting and trying week…hence the long delay in the post.

Well before I start rambling about my contribution, I have a few comments about it.

1. I know the campaign calls for small, continuous acts of Sadaqa and kindness but I can’t help but write about what happened. Action was critical (and despite differences in opinion with other people I’ve told, I feel it was an obligation)…and in all honesty, i hope such a situation does not occur again.
2. The other reason I wanted to post this was because there are many lessons to be learned from the incident…two in particular…that I think may cause others to act and give ideas for their own acts.

Well let’s get right into it.

I was returning from my Juma’ah ritual of Street Support rather late. I live on the outskirts of Toronto (Markham a.k.a. the middle of nowhere) so travel does take a significant amount of time. As I waited for the last bus of the evening from the transfer terminal there was a bit of an altercation that was developing between a young man and a middleschool/highschool couple. Heated words and pushes were exchanged before the couple backed away. The young man (no older than 16 really) was clearly drunk and neither of his two friends refused to calm him down and simply watched him from the corner.

Now that the couple had gone, I went back to my writing at the bench. The young man continued shouting, laughing, talking smack and so on. A few minutes later, the couple returned to check whether their bus had arrived. As one would expect, the pushing, shoving and insults started again. Now it began to get slightly more violent…still everyone (almost half a dozen people) refused to do anything but look away. This situation was clearly ready to escalate into something worse so I decided to talk to the drunk kid…distract him, calm him down, remove him from the incident.

At this point I was not sure if this was the best course of action…perhaps this would resolve itself without becoming worse. By this time, the kid had pulled a weapon. It was no longer a decision and the need for action became apparent. Alhumdulillah I managed to walk up to him (quite calmly), started talking to him and finally took away the knife and got him away from the couple before he did something really stupid. Eventually, the police turned up due to an anonymous tip from a driver who was passing by and had seen the pushing and shoving from the lot.

His name was Umar (sp?). He resides in Rexdale and his family came here under refugee status from Mogadishu. Another of our lost Muslim youth. Allah help him.

Two things became apparent during this whole situation.

First…the inaction of peoples is a dangerous thing. In some situations (like this one), it can become deadly. Perhaps I’m being melodramatic but if Umar was not stopped, only Allah knows what could have happened. My point is the inaction of the public to oppressive governments, backwards foreign policies, monopolizing corporations, homelessness and other social issues is simply unacceptable, just as unacceptable as inaction at the terminal.

Which brings me to my second point. If his friends had simply taken action (i.e. talked him out of it), the situation would never have escalated. As we waited to have our statements recorded for the ensuing police report (conducted in a corner of the terminal), I asked his friends why they hadn’t done anything. They gave me a blank look and told me one of the most heart wrenching things I have ever heard.

“Yea…I got work tomorrow. I didn’t want to get involved with his business.” (Well…this is paraphrased).

I was instantly reminded of an old Sufi proverb. Better an intelligent enemy than an ignorant friend. (Aside: “Mais vale inimigo sabedor do que amigo ignorante” in Portugese and “Cahil dostun olacagına, akıllı dusmanın olsun” in Turkish) May Allah bless us with loving, caring friends and keep us from ignorant ones. May Allah keep us from becoming ignorant friends to others.

So I guess this post boils down to two suggestions for small acts of kindness:

1. Take action…in our communities, in our homes…wherever…whenever…for any/every worthy cause.
2. Maintain good friends and keep yourself from becoming an ignorant friend. Lend counsel, urge patience and so on.

As the young man from Rexdale was handcuffed and taken away in the police car, I felt a great ache for our youth. For ourselves. Another of ours lost. May Allah guide him (and all of us) to the Straight Path.

————
Salaams, Much Love and Respect
-TWS