Dr Umar F Abd-Allah's lecture on Extremism

Dr Umar F Abd-Allah's excellent lecture on the roots of Extremism ( around an hour long) part of the Radical Middle way project:

Click here to listen

Sherman Jackson at Harvard: Islam(s) East and West: Clash of Imaginations?

Sherman Jackson presents interesting thoughts on the above topic. It is definately not an "easy listen" as Prof. Jackson is very deep in his words. He talks about Blackness/WHiteness and the false universal and how the immigrant muslims fit into this picture:

A luncheon seminar with Sherman Jackson, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Michigan. Response offered by Farid Esack, William Henry Bloomberg Visiting Professor at Harvard Divinity School. One in a series of seminars on the theme Whose Religion? Which Morality? Conflict and Authority in World Religions.



LISTEN HERE

The Sleeper Cell

Found via Maniac muslim bhai:

The Hamilton Spectator: A reporter's experience as she dons head scarf and interacts with locals

Interesting observations....Something our hijabee "sisters/bajees" have to live with daily..

"The salesgirl leads me right to the scarlet mini when I ask to see something in red.

She doesn't scan the racks for a black, ankle-length number to match my head scarf. "Maybe I'll come back," I say, disappointed.

Yesterday, I was looking for more than my usual shopping experience -- and not just in summer wear. The clerk's actions were the first surprise in my quest for quick answers. In my hijab, I'd expected she'd offer up a modest dress.

For three hours, I saw the city through the eyes of a Muslim woman -- sort of. I borrowed a hijab, so I could walk in the shoes of a female Muslim. Did the scarf mean I would be treated differently?"

Tariq Ramadan on the BBC

Tariq Ramadan elequontly answers some tough questions about Islam on the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/worldservice/meta/tx/heartandsoul?nbram=1&nbwm=1&size=au&lang=en-ws&bgc=003399

In the second of three programmes, John Humphrys, one of the UK's top news presenters, comes face to face with leading religious figures. Once John believed in God, but now he says he has lost his faith and so he challenges Christian, Jewish and Islamic scholars to convert him back to belief again. This week he speaks to the Muslim academic Professor Tariq Ramadan. How does he reconcile the Muslim belief in a merciful God with suffering in the world, what does he believe when he
says the Qur'an is the "very word of God" and what is his response to Muslims who say their faith justifies violence.

From Punjab to Italy

An interesting article about immigration from India to abroad and the reasons why people are immigrating in the first place. The reasons outlined in this article are true for many immigrants who are from agragarian economies. The problem sometimes is the fact that people who dream of abroad think it is some kind of utopia here becase of the abundent wealth.

Actually thats what I thought too, when I came back. I always had the impression that since Pakistan's main problems are blamed on economy then automatically if the economy is good then the people would be satisfied and happy. However having spent almost 6 years since my return, it is obvious that economy may be one factor that causes people to be happy or feel some kind of semblence of happiness, it is no gurantee of happiness. In fact the more wealth you have sometimes, the more responisbility and worry you have about protecting that wealth....Anyways read the article:

Looking out of the one-room home he shares with his wife and two children, Naresh sees his neighbors' success in the two-storied, freshly painted house that triumphs over Naresh's own shabby building, with its cracks creeping across the walls and mildew decorating the ceiling.

Ten years ago, the two sons from across the way traveled from this village here in Punjab to Italy to make their fortune. One ended up selling cheap Indian clothes in a shop in Milan, the other found work in a factory. Gradually, with the money they sent back, their parents' simple shack was demolished to make way for the grander, Mediterranean-inspired, red-tiled edifice that now throws a shadow over Naresh's house and mood.

Wiki bhai gives some other reasons too:

Theories of migration traditionally distinguish between push factors and pull factors. ^[3] Push factors refer primarily to the motive for emigration from the country of origin. In the case of economic migration (usually labour migration), differentials in wage rates are prominent. Poor individuals from less developed countries can have far higher standards of living in developed countries than in their originating countries. Escape from poverty (personal or for relatives staying behind) is a traditional push factor, the availability of jobs is the related pull factor. Natural disasters can amplify poverty-driven migration flows. This kind of migration may be illegal immigration in the destination country (emigration is also illegal in some countries, such as North Korea).

Emigration and immigration are sometimes mandatory in a contract of employment: religious missionaries, and employees of transnational corporations, international non-governmental organisations and the diplomatic service can expect to work 'overseas'. They are often referred to as 'expatriates', and their conditions of employment are typically equal to or better than those applying in the host country (for similar work).

For some migrants, education is the primary pull factor (note that students on limited visas are often not defined as immigrants, though later applications for immigration are usually made easier for them). Retirement migration from rich countries to lower-cost countries with better climate, is a new type of international migration. An example is immigration of retired British citizens to Spain. Some, although relatively few, immigrants justify their drive to be in a different country for cultural or health related reasons and very seldom, again in relative quantitative terms compared to the actual number of international migrants world-wide, choose to migrate as a form of self-expression towards the establishment or to satisfy their need to directly perceive other cultural environments because economics is almost always the primary motivator for constant, long-term, or permanent migration, but especially for that type of inter-regional or inter-continental migration; that holds true even for people from developed countries.

Non-economic push factors include persecution (religious and otherwise), frequent abuse, bullying, oppression, ethnic cleansing and even genocide, and risks to civilians during war. Political motives traditionally motivate refugee flows - to escape dictatorship for instance.

Some migration is for personal reasons, based on a relationship (e.g. to be with family or a loved one). In a few cases, an individual may wish to emigrate to a new country in a form of transferred patriotism. Evasion of criminal justice (e.g. avoiding arrest) is a (mostly negative) personal motivation. This type of emigration and immigration is not normally legal, if a crime is internationally recognized, although criminals may diguise their identities or find other loopholes to evade detection.

Barriers to immigration come not only in legal form; natural barriers to immigration can also be very powerful. Immigrants when leaving their country also leave everything familiar: their family, friends, support network, and culture. They also need to liquidate their assets often at a large cost, and incur the expense of moving. When they arrive in a new country this is often with many uncertainties including finding work, where to live, new laws, new cultural norms, language or accent issues, possible racism and other exclusionary behaviour towards them and their family. These barriers act to limit international migration: scenarios where populations move en masse to other continents, creating huge population surges, and their associated strain on infrastructure and services, ignore these inherent limits on migration.

Qantata.de: "Halal" Labels Experiencing a Supermarket Boom

The halal market seems to picking up globally...

"The halal marketplace is set to become one of the most profitable and influential arenas in the food industry," predicts Salama Evans, speaker for WHF. There are abundant opportunities both inside and outside traditional Muslim countries, with the halal market in Great Britain alone harboring a potential for 4 billion USD in sales.

The major producers are Malaysia, Brazil and Turkey, all of which have introduced halal standards for every link in the production chain. Most of the world's leading meat producers – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA – integrate certified slaughtering techniques into their production process. READ MORE

Ojhri Camp

I was only 6 years old at the time of this disaster. An ammunation dump in Pindi exploded throwing hundreds of missels all over Islamabad/Pindi. I was at school that day and all of a sudden us little cute kids started hearing explosions. We were taken out of the building and saw what seemed like a huge fire with smoke coming out kilometers away The bizzare event continued for at least a couple of hours before things calmed down.

There was a flurry of misinformation. Some said it was war, some said it was the end of the world.We would go inside the building and then on plain ground outside and then inside again. We survied but I remember my dad was home who told us that 3 misiles landed near our home. one went though the neighbor's roof!

I was too young to grasp the magnitude of the situation at that time, but it still lives fresh in my memory unlike other events that happened at that age which I have mostly forgotten.... I wonder what impact this has on people--specially the kids..- who live through wars ( and the threat of missles, etc) every day.....

Anyways read more about this disaster here...

I need subtitles for my spouse | csmonitor.com

I need subtitles for my spouse | csmonitor.com

How exactly did she say the word? After all, there are many different ways to enunciate the simple, yet powerful, word "fine."

It could be a slow and drawn out "fiiiiinnnne," implying deep and permanent suspicion.

It could be a shouted "FINE!" Meaning, of course, it is not fine; it is horrible on a scale not seen since the battle of Thermopylae or the last time you wore brown socks with your blue suit.

It could even be the dreaded whispered "fine," which, as we all know, is the deadliest "fine" of all.

Tajjed ( tagged?)

And so I was tagged ( tajjed?). Each player of this game starts off with ten weird things or habits or little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged must write in a blog of their own ten weird things or habits or little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you must choose six people to be tagged and list their names. No tagbacks!”



I am not a big fan of revealing too much peronal information about myself on my blog however, I will try my best here:



--I like Roti to the point of obsession

--I am an environmental consultant--not common from south asians..a lot of them are in IT.

--I was born in calgary, moved to Pakistan and moved back here--hence the name: Global Nomad

--I am fascinated by the Aunty Network

--I want to have All bran high fibered sback bars given away after my Nikah

--I love south asian gatherings of freinds/ families in the toronto area specially the uncle debates that happen there

--I hate to hate people

--"you are weird" is a compliment I have recieved many times. The fact that I consider it a compliment proves I am weird.

--I love british accents perhaps that is part of my inherited infriority complex to our past colonial masters

--I like people who make roti for me



I Taj (tag). The following:



Salman

Omar

Sumera

Umm Zaid

Taslim Bajee

Abdul Rahman bhai

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Abdul Hakim Murad: New contentions

Sh. Abdul Hakim Murad has new contentions on masud's site now:



My favourites from the new contentions are as follows:

"50. The road to God is paved with laughter at the self. The road to Hell is paved with laughter at others."

"65 Wisdom consists mainly in the ability to recognise human weakness."

"68. Only those who know themselves to be unworthy are worthy."

Christian Science Monitor~Backstory: A country-western Muslim

Very interesting....

Kareem Salama – the main act on this evening's Muslim Student Association program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – nervously sips a bottle of water backstage as his guitarist/producer tunes a 12-string guitar.

The crowd buzz softens to a deferential hush as a bearded student takes the stage to start the evening with readings from the Koran in an Arabic melody that sounds like a medieval hymn.

It's Koranic recitations like these that inspired Mr. Salama, the son of Eygptian immigrants, to become a musician. But it's the peculiarly American circumstances of his life that drove this devout Muslim with a Southern drawl to his musical passion – country..........

.........Despite stereotypes of the South as a region struggling with race issues, the Salama family experienced limited discrimination. Salama remembers only a few incidents when people shouted ethnic slurs and believes they were isolated occurrences. His mother, who wears hijab, once joined a women's painting group and initially experienced friction from suspicious members. However, once they got to know her, they became close friends.

"The South embodies so many Islamic values," says Salama. As an example, he cites the prophet Muhammad's command that good Muslims must greet their neighbors, also a common Southern practice, he says...............READ ON

Sh Hamza Yusuf: On chess

A very reflective article by Sh Hamza which really makes one reflect on the importance of time. He explains this though the example of hwo classica schlars dealt with the issue of chess:

Games, recreation, fun, folly, silliness, and vacations all have their place in our lives, but the tragedy occurs when those activities become the purpose of our lives, and the true purpose of life is entirely missed. Our efforts are directed towards recreation: we work to play, believing that the week is only an excuse for the weekend. The world is filled with people who are “killing time,” completely unaware that time is actually killing us. One day, we will wake up and have to face our lives in their entirety. READ IT AND LEARN!!