Imran Khan on Lal Masjid

Imran Khan sheds his light on the Lal Masjid issue ( and Pakistani Politics). I haven't heard a better articulated opinion than his on Lal Masjid:

Doing it....

Amelia Earhart - "The most effective way to do it, is to do it."

Shaykh Nizamuddin Awliya on Travelling

Shaykh Nizamuddin Awliya (1242-1325), often referred by Islamic spirituals as "the king of saints" (Sultan al-Masha'ikh), is a highly venerated sage and authentic theologian of Islam. A great mystic and reformer of the Muslims of his era and truly a living and an inspiring legacy for the sincere followers of Islam today. The following quote is taken from his famous compilation "Morals for the Heart":

"The traveller is constantly on the way to perfection, that is, so long as he is progressing in the way (of perfection), he is in hope of perfection. There is the traveller, the standstill, and the retreater. The traveller is the one who treads the path; the standstill is the one who stops along the way. Every time that the traveller lapses in his obedience, he becomes stationary. If he quickly resumes his work and repents, then he may again become a traveller. If, God forbid, he remains at a standstill, then he may become a retreater or backslider." (p 98)

Dr. Shahid Masood in Jang: Who were they and where did they go?

A respected journalist from Pakistan Dr. Shahid Masood narrates a story of 2 sisters--the younger of of whom was approximately 10 years old who studied at the now famous madressa in Islamabad: Jamiah hafsa. He went to the madrssa a couple of months ago to interview the students at the madressa and the brothers who ran it. Anyways the article narrates how the young 10-year old took his cell number and kept sending him text messages over the last little while with ayahs, hadiths, etc. He talked to the sisters on the phone when the fighting was in it's initial phase. They seem very confident that the crissis would not escalate. Dr. Shahid Masood tries to convince them to come out but to no avail. After the final push by the government, Dr. Shahid Masood calls their number and finds out from the sobbing young 10 year old saying that her elder sister has died. The phone cuts off afterwards leaving Dr. Masood in a sad state. {READ URDU ARTICLE HERE}

I think the best thing about the article is that it successfully presents the human side of things. The people on the perceived"other side" were after all humans as well even if they had made errors in judgments and were most likely not dealt with in the best way--specially right before the final push by the forces was made. Negotiations should not have been disbanded within 15 minutes.

IRIN ASIA PAKISTAN: Contaminated water a threat to millions in Punjab

LAHORE, 12 July 2007 (IRIN) - Urban water quality in Pakistan has deteriorated dangerously over the past decade and the country’s most heavily populated province, the Punjab, is at risk, say specialists.

In Lahore, capital of the Punjab, east Pakistan, leaking sewage pipes are allowing dirty water to seep into drinking water pipes, causing an increase in water-borne diseases.

Each day Shakila Aslam steps outside her Lahore home, she must tread carefully. Treacherously slippery, sewage-soaked mud greets her. Broken sewage lines leave huge pools of filthy water on the road and a stench lingers across the area. READ ON

Mufti Rafi Usmani on why Lal Masjid talks failed at last moment (in Urdu)

Daily Times: Truth will out

I have largely remained silent on the "Lal Masjid" issue on my blog. I have lots to say and will say it a later blog post inshahallah. However for now I will link to this article by Ejaz Haider who asks some very pertinent questions about the whole situation:

The government has closed the file on Lal Masjid. Time now to answer some questions.

As argued in this space, states use force or threaten its use and that is considered legitimate (the issue of legitimacy is of course linked to either a large majority of people approving the use of force in a situation or the state’s ability to do so without fear of being effectively challenged). Philosophers since Plato have noted that “politics involves managing coercive force because human condition involves conflicts of interests”.

But there is a caveat: force cannot be used gratuitously; it is a means towards an end and not an end in itself. This is true both of a state’s use of force against internal challenges and external threats..>READ ON

Surprises...

Christian Science monitor discuses the undeniable unpredictably of life.

- An old saying claims, "There's nothing new under the sun." Whenever you're faced with a difficult situation, it's reassuring to think that someone else in the world has already confronted the same dilemma and found a solution.

I hate to pop any body's bubble, but that old saying is bilge. While it's true that many elements of the world around us are predictable and manageable, there will always be surprises that test our ability to adapt.

No matter how much you plan or brainstorm things--you will still have surprises. I think the best you can do is equip yourself with tools to manage the situation but you cant predict which tool you will be using. To expect everything will go according to plan is very naive. Contingency plans have to be prepared even though they might not be enough. Further I see sometimes that when people plan things , they are making lots of positive assumptions without pondering the strength of these assumptions. And when the assumptions fall apart then they get surprised. My view is that every situation you face is unique. While there are similarities between some situations, they are not all the same. Experience can only help to a certain extent after which you need to keep an open mind and tackle the situation based on whats happening at that time. Perhaps thats why the best resources to approach situations are hybrids of experience and youth.

And as Muslims we believe, we can try our best but in the end what was meant to miss will miss and what is meant to hit will hit. You try your best but then leave rest to God. Don't sweat over it if it didn't work out. Its called Tawakul. As Shaykh Haddad explains on Sunnipath:

We should not confuse Tawakkul - reliance on Allah - with the acts we do in a period of deliberation, reflection, consultation, and special prayer before an important decision. Those acts and that period may come to an end, however, Tawakkul never ends. No matter what the decision, or when, we continue relying on Allah even for matters that seem granted and far less momentous. "Tie it [the camel] and rely [on Allah]" meaning go ahead and act - after due consideration - but always rely on Allah: before, during, and after.

Wild Sanctuary

Here is a website which I turn on sometimes for mental relaxation. It has nature sounds in it. I turn it on at work, home, etc. Very relaxing. AND also very funny since you can confuse a lot people too!

CLICK HERE TO LOAD WEBSITE AND LISTEN

MSN: A Breath of Fresh Air: MDI Makes World's First Air Powered Car

Air powered car!
Exciting stuff!

Short of hydrogen-powered, fuel cell or pure electric vehicles, there aren’t very many ways of obtaining zero emissions status. Admittedly, there’s still plenty of research left to do on fuel cell vehicles before they hit the road, not to mention the hydrogen refueling infrastructure that needs to be built, and while there’s been progress on electric cars such as the Tesla roadster, cost is always an issue. Now, French automaker MDI has come up with a clever solution that’s affordable and produces zero emissions to boot. How did they do it? The car is powered by air! READ ON

Punjabe Wise Saying 2: Water, sticks and unions

Punjabee: "Panee wich sotaa maryaan panee do totey naheen hunda"

Translation: Water does not break into 2 pieces when you hit with a stick

Explanation: Strong unions don't break that easily. If you hit water with a stick, it doesn't break--- instead the energy from the stick is dissipated as ripples and eventually whithers away. The water returns to the same state as it was before and if you hadn't seen the stick striking the water, you wont even notice that an attempt had been made to break it. Thats how our bonds of kinship and friendships should be i.e. calm and unperturbed like water.

Gurdian Unlimited: Blue lake and rocky shore ...

Would like to visit this...some day. More info on Etera here

A stunning new eco-lodge in deepest Ontario combines comfort with a taste of the wilderness. Gemma Bowes checks in:

The cough of gravel spray and the fading clatter of the Sounds Like Canada radio station fade as my Dodge car grinds to a halt, giving way to a thick silence broken only by intermittent bird peeps, woodpecker drilling and red squirrel chatter from the pines.

Behind me lie the stressful car-horn jams of Toronto's escape routes and five hours of straight roads, gently rolling hills dotted with strawberry fields, motels, and the totem poles and tipis of First Nation craft stores. Ahead are the final few hundred metres of Ontario's Bruce Peninsula, and Tobermory, the final town on the narrow pinnacle of land that juts up between Lake Huron - the world's fifth-largest freshwater lake - and the smaller Georgian Bay, classed as a separate lake although their waters merge above the promontory. READ ON

From Sunnipath on divine love

A lovely piece of prose by Al-Shirazi from Sunnipath regarding divine love:

Happy are the days of them that are infatuated by love for Him, whether they be sorrowed by separation from Him or made joyous by His presence.

They are mendicants who fly from worldly sovereignty; in the hope of meeting Him they are patient in their mendicity. Often have they drunk of the wine of anguish; be it bitter, they remain silent..READ ON

BBC: India refineries told to clean up

Finally....I am sure the refinaries arent the only one doing this in india or that this is happening in only India. It is a HUGE problem in the developing world.

India refineries told to clean up


Authorities in India's north-eastern state of Assam have threatened local oil refineries with closure unless they stopped polluting local rivers.

Assam's Pollution Control Board has given five refineries a year to stop discharging effluents into rivers.

It says the refineries were dumping effluents at levels much higher than acceptable federal limits. READ ON

Tikkun: Holocaust Denial Undermines Islam

Sh Hamza Yusuf on how holocaust denial undermines Islam. A lot of Muslims you mention holocaust to either would deny the extent of it, would either link it to the Israel=Palestine issue ( you can link it but you should not just directly link it without acknowledging the pain of the holocaust) or would say that "There have been other holocausts of other communities as well...Why is this overplayed so much"...I feel that you cant be talking about apples and oranges at the same time. YOu have to first acknowledge that the holocaust was a terrible thing. Sh Hamza Yusuf's article talks about the transformation of information and sees more Muslim sensitivity towards the holocaust a starting point for a discussion which could lead to more fruitful discussions on the more controversial issues:

Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that studies the nature and basis of knowledge. How do we know things? It also studies the veracity of “truth.” How do we know the difference between belief, knowledge, opinion, fact, reality and fantasy? The Greek philosopher, Carneades, believed that knowledge of reality, of what is true or false, is impossible, that nothing can be known with certainty; his philosophy is known as skepticism. It does not reject belief altogether; Carneades felt that our belief about any given matter should be subjected to intense scrutiny and then, using a scale of probability, we should accept or reject the likelihood of its truth or falsehood. But we must make no absolute claims to it. Another Greek skeptic, Cratylus, however, was more radical in his approach and believed that nothing could be known at all, and thus no statements could convey anything true or meaningful. He finally gave up talking altogether. READ ON

Historical Islamic Texts/ Fiqh of Marriage program at Islamic Foundation this weekend

For Registeration please visit www.alzahraonline.com

Program Details: http://www.alzahraonline.com/Program.pdf

Freelance Switch: 10 Essential Steps To Get To The Top Of Your Field

Good advice on how to maximize your knowldge of your feild...whatever it may be..

For now, if you’re not already at the top of your field, there are some essential steps you can take today to get there. Whether you’re just starting out or even if you’ve been doing what you do for over a decade (like I have), there’s always ways to improve.

READ HERE

Islamic Perspectives: Mind control and repentence

A post on the "Psychology Today" website made me ponder over bad thoughts ,we have about past sins. Or sins we are thinking about and might be tempted to do in the future.

I once mentioned the "Dont think of an elephant" theorem in one of my previous posts. It is a similar phenomena. The more you try to forget about something the more you think about it. As research points out:

You're not the only one who feels that way, says Harvard University psychologist Daniel Wegner, author of White Bears and Other Unwanted Thoughts: Suppression, Obsession, and the Psychology of Mental Control. His research has shown that trying very hard not to think about something almost guarantees that we will think about it.

Now I guess the question becomes what do you do when you think of something that you want to forget about or don't want to think about. You would try to offload it somehow and cut the means to that thought.

I connect this to Sinning and tawba i.e. the Islamic perspectives. When you commit a sin, you are islamically encouraged not to ponder about it and repent right away while cutting the means to it. As Sunnipath says:

1) One shouldn't leave repentance if one keeps falling into the sin. Rather, one should keep renewing one's repentance--while striving to fulfill its conditions of sincere remorse, leaving the sin, and resolving never to return.

Often, sins are the manifestations of bad habits that have crept into our lives, and it takes repeated renewal of resolve to rid oneself of them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reminded us in many hadiths that, "Allah continues accepting the repentance of a servant until they take their very last breath." [Tirmidhi (3460) and Ahmad (5885), from Ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him)]

(2) The key to successful repentance is not merely resolving to leave the sin, but to figure out what is leading to the sin, and to take the positive means to stay away from the causes of the sin.

So, for example, if one finds oneself watching impermissible things when using the internet alone at night in one's basement, then successful repentance would entail changing one's internet use such that the matters leading one to sin are avoided, while also fulfilling the conditions of sincere repentance (namely, remorse, leaving the sin, and resolving never to return).

The early Muslims used to say, "Whoever considers consequences is safe."

Instead you are encouraged to make tawba ASAP (i.e. repentance of sin which includes the acknowledgement of the sin to God) and move on. . Quoting from Sunnipath again:

The conditions for repentance are well known:

1. Leaving the sin;
2. Remorse over having committed the sin;
3. Resolve never to return to the sin;
4. (If it relates to the rights of another person, then to) Return the rights or property one wrongly took. [al-Bariqa fi Sharh al-Tariqa; Riyad al-Salihin]

If these conditions are truly met, then one can expect one's sins to be forgiven. However, one has to be very careful about how sincere one is in fulfilling one's conditions. It is recommended to seek forgiveness a lot, and to repent every time the sin comes to one's mind.

So you know what to do next time you try to get rid of bad thoughts.....Repent!

QUote

"Information erodes uncertainty".

said by someone I respect.

EI: Decoding the media's Palestinian "civil war"

An interesting look at the media bias in Coverage of the Israel/Palestine issue:

Major news stories from Palestine/Israel are often accompanied by what becomes a self-reinforcing "vocabulary," typically generated by Israeli government ministries or other propaganda outlets, and then picked up by the Western media. A classic example was the redeployment of Israeli settlers and military from the Gaza Strip in 2005, which was successfully packaged as a "disengagement" that pitted "Israeli against Israeli," in a "painful compromise." This kind of marketing exercise often works even when there are widely available contradictory reports, such as how "disengagement" was openly trumpeted by Sharon and his advisors as a strategy for destroying the peace process.

This phenomenon went into overdrive recently, as dramatic events across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, but especially in Gaza, presented the evening news with a problem of how to reduce the conflict in the internal Palestinian political arena into an easily digestible sound bite. The solution was, as usual, lazy journalism and an almost total blackout on Israeli/US collusion in the dark events unfolding. Here then, is a guide to decoding the Palestinian "civil war," presented as a series of oft-repeated, yet entirely misleading, clichés. READ ON

YaleGlobal: Letter from China:

The downfalls of the Chinese economy:



The Last 'Competitive Advantage': Letter From China ( click here to read article)

Workers of the West resent the transfer of manufacturing jobs to China, as companies pursue cost advantages and low wages. With good jobs hard to come by, the Chinese have little choice but to work long days for low wages. Some employers withhold wages altogether. Allowing competition to take its course and viewing jobs of any sort as the best way to alleviate poverty, the Chinese government has long resisted enacting or enforcing policies that could protect workers. Instead, the government keeps the cycle going: purchasing US Treasury bills, encouraging the US spending spree, feeding the US deficit and keeping interest rates low. Few in the West protest the harsh labor conditions in China, with so many corporations and investors reaping big profits and consumers enjoying cheap goods. But according to Han Dongfang, a unionist with the China Labor Bulletin, a Hong Kong journal, China’s
own legal system may eventually end exploitative labor practices, forcing employers to recognize and pay the full value of work done in China. Han and his colleagues have tried about 30 cases and won most.The number is impressive for an authoritarian government – establishing precedents, putting ruthless employers on notice and giving workers hope for a better future. – YaleGlobal

Punjabi Wisdom 1: Dog and tiger

I have a book from which I will be quoting famous punjabi quotes from time to time. There are thousnads of such sayings whch have been orally transmitted to our elders over the centuries. They are very wity, speacially if you are familiar with punjabi:

Apni galee which kuta wee shair hounda hay

Even a dog is a tiger in his own street

The above quote implies that even a dog can act like a tiger when it is in its own backyard. So even a week person can be brave when he is in his own backyard. This is obvious in sports where even week sports teams can be hard to beat at home. It may be the psycological advantage that you given that you are familiar with all the conditions which may arise.

Or it could also mean at the dog may have lots more friends in it's own backyard which may make itas effective as a tiger.

Quote

"It is easier to act yourself into a better way of feeling then to feel yourself into a better way of action." O.H. Mowrer

Video: 60 Ways to keep your wife happy

Reccommended by married friends:

Christian Science Monitor: A tribute to my mom's moral influence

Christian Science Monitor has an article written by a successful professional, who talks about this one little incident at the age of 10, where he burried the neighbor's porch with tomatos. He goes on and writes about how his mom's subsequent dealing with this incident shaped his life.

I think almost everyone ( when they were younger) has had little positive instances like the one narrated in this article. It seemed insignificant at the time but it's affects basically linger on for the rest of you lives ( for example I remember the consequences there were if I ever lied....also I think if parents practice what they preech it has a even more significant impact). And thats one of the reasons we should be thankful to our parents. Anyways read this!

Every time I see a tomato vine loaded with ripening fruit, I think of my mother. I have never forgotten the lesson she taught me after my complete destruction of our neighbor's summer Beefsteak harvest nearly 50 years ago. She created a moral bond with me that forever linked me to her strong sense of right and wrong. I don't know if she ever realized how powerfully her involvement in my punishment influenced the formation of my ethical compass. READ ON

Toronto Star: A haven for South Asian women

Took me a year to find out that this Muslim Welfare Centre exists in Whitby. Weird that I eventually find out about this through the Toronto Star. Read the article. Kudos to the people who runs this centre. These domestic issues need to be addressed at every level in our communities. Cant put our hands on our eyes and pretend they do not exsist. Of course this problem is not unique to Muslim communities.

Regardless, I believe that the community itself needs to step up to resolve it's own problems because the community itself is the most skilled in understanding its own situation the best. I recall discussions I have had with volunteers from downtown shelters who complain about the lack of muslim volunteers, which often leaves them ill equiped to deal with Muslim youth. Specially when it comes down to understanding the roots of the problems that the Muslim youth face when they leave thier homes for these shelters. Yes, unfortunately quite a few Muslim youth end up in these shelters. Anyways read article below about some good work being done in Whitby.

A haven for South Asian womenA family shelter in Whitby offers refuge for abused Muslim women

Sara Shah sits in her near-empty apartment quietly studying her hands. With her long black braid and smooth, unlined face she seems much younger than her almost-40 years.

Sara (not her real name) moved here just a few weeks ago. There are no curtains, no showy knick-knacks. There's just a table and two shabby chairs. A handful of toys lines the floor along one wall.

Her 3-year-old son rides his tricycle in circles, the wheels thundering in the emptiness. Sara sends him to ride in the other room.

She takes a deep breath and continues with the story of the marriage she left just four months ago.

"For three years, it was like I was being burned alive............READ ON

Toronto Star: Honeymoon redux? Not exactly

Muhammad Lila talks about his wedding aniversery celebrations after the advent of his kids. The couple travelled to the same destination as their honeymoon. He compares the difference....I have been told the next two big changes in my life will be: 1) Marriage (Inshahallah) and 2)Kids ( inshahalah). The article goes over both of the fore-mentioned changes. Good read. read it.

Toronto Star: Honeymoon redux? Not exactly

It was one of those perfect, once-in-a-lifetime moments. Two newlyweds on the last day of their honeymoon, holding hands, strolling along the beach in the picturesque Red Sea town of Sharm el-Sheikh. Squishing wet sand beneath her feet, my wife Samrina smiled.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we could come back someday?" she wondered.

"I'll tell you what," I answered. "One day, we'll come back for our anniversary."

"What if we have kids then?"

"It's okay, we'll bring them, too."

Chinise Proverb

"Talk doesnt cook rice" ( Chinise proverb)

(Din's addition: It doesnt cook rotee either!)

SAFSPACE: Lofty expectations

SAFSPACE talks about lofty expectations we have of people when we meet them for the first time. I fully agree with her. Now and then, I see peoplegetting disappointed with other people. More often than not the disappointment is self inflicted.

In some cases, the people with the expectations don't hold themselves to the same standard that they expect other people to live up to---A case of looking outside the window before looking at your own reflection in the mirror. On the other hand, as a result of these lofty expectations you may assume that other people hold you to the same standard that you hold them to which can either result in over-self criticism and low confidence or it can lead to further criticism of people around you just to make sure they are not doing better than yourself in terms of meeting your self defined standard. Anyways read the article.

SAFspace » Lofty Expectations

In the beginning, you are enthralled. When you speak to her for the first time, she is all glory and fascination. So polished, so passionate, so clever – you are privileged to be in her company, so desperate to be her friend. So you meet her in a little café. How’re things going, you ask lightly, tempering your excitement for fear of frightening her away. And you sit down, order something sweet, and settle in for a good hour’s talk. And then she says something that surprises you. Out of character, you think.

South Asian Cooking

The Desi cookbook.

Found off DP.

A website with a variety of recipes of South Asian foods including rotee!!

Facing Facebook...the Din way....

Well. Over the past few months I have been asked several times: "Are you on Facebook?" My reply is : "no... "

The fact that more and more people ask me about my presence on Facebook, as if it is a given that I should have a presence on Facebook has made me think or evaluate as to why I am not on Facebook.

The reason for not being on Facebook is not my laziness, neither is it an anti-corporate boycott ( like it is in the case of Wal-mart). I guess part of the reason for not getting on "Facebook" is based on my 4 month ( approximate) flirtation with Orkut---another soical networking website back in 2004. I remember finding Orkut fascinating as I was able to instantly connect to several of my high school ( or primary school..) classmates ..with whom I had been out of touch for an extended period of time. In addition, I was able to connect to local freinds too. PLus I was able to familiarize myself with newer friends by looking at their, social circle and the groups they were signed up to on the social networking site ( i.e. Orkut). Given the above benefits, I loved logging on to Orkut and was fascinated by it.

However sooner then I could realize what I was doing, the reality of Orkut-addiction donned upon me. I was spending many hours exchanging messages and connecting with people far away, while I let higher-priority tasks slip away in my real (non-cyber world) life. Moreover, I was addicted to browsing people's profiles to see what they were upto, which also had no tangible positive impact on my daily reality. The positive impacts that I was achieving through orkut could also be achieved though email which was less time consuming than orkut. These factors made me reconsider my position on Orkut and eventually led to the deletion of my Orkut account soon thereafter.


I guess Facebook is similar in some ways to Orkut though I have been told that it is better in the sense that it allows you to choose people who can view your profile, etc , etc. In other words you control the privacy of your profile. Nevertheless my expireince with Orkut has
made me vary of such a site. And i do not wish to test the utility of Facebook given the risk of addiction that lingers with such tests.

Anyhow, I am not "against" Facebook per say. I am "for" a cautious approach when dealing with Facebook.


After all it is a tool and if you know how to control and use it properly thenthere is nothing wrong with it. Howver if the tool controls your life then you know it is not a tool anymore, it is a
monstor!!

Peace, love and ...cows

ANimals can be good teachers. I had a cat thoughout my youth and taking care of the cat taught me a few things about life and death ( when it died).

I never had a chance with cows. One of those things I missed out on I guess. For now I can learn from what someone else learnt from cows:

Peace, love... and cows | csmonitor.com

I was 12 when I started spending summers on my uncle's farm. That's when I took Cow 101. And those lessons have guided me through the past 60 years.

On that first day when I met Jenny, Jasmine, Janice, and Jackie, I fell in love. Those cows came wandering in from the field, walked right over, and put their heads into the stanchions. Then they looked up at me with those big tender eyes. I tell you, I could see love in their faces –and I felt the same way. As I got to know those girls, I learned five important truisms about life.

1. Cows don't hurry.

The girls never rushed into anything. In fact, getting milk cows to run is not an easy matter. I decided to try following their example and slowing things down myself. Nowadays you can't get me to hurry anything.

2. Cows live on the "grazing principle."

The girls followed the fresh grass – wherever it might lead. They didn't worry much about an exact route. They just went along until it was time to head for the milking shed.....READ ON

Web MD: What makes wives happy

Interesting....

What Makes Wives Happy?


What do wives really want? A new study shows that for the typical American woman a happy marriage combines both modern and traditional ideas of partnership.

In a survey of 5,000 married women, wives who felt that their husbands were emotionally engaged were the happiest in their marriages. But wives who worked outside the home were not as happy as wives who didn't.

Far more than financial status or equal division of household chores, the single most important predictor of marital happiness among the women in the study was the
level of their husbands' emotional engagement. Wives who shared the view that marriage is a lifelong commitment with their husbands were also happiest in their relationships.

A more controversial finding was that women in the survey were happiest when their husbands were the main breadwinners for the family and when they did not work outside the home..................READ ON"

PAKISTAN: Toxins from tanneries endanger Kasur's residents

Oshawa, my current place of residence used to have lots of tannerires and that fact is still considered something to be aware of when conducting environmental investigations. In Kasur the tanneries are up and running as this artcle elaborates:

KASUR, 1 May 2007 (IRIN) - For most of his adult life, Muhammad Rauf, 38, has worked at a hide-tanning factory in the Pakistani border town of Kasur. He applies large quantities of water and chemicals to raw animal skins as part of the laborious process that turns them into finished leather.

"I know my work well. It supports my family and two years ago I was made a supervisor," Rauf told IRIN in Kasur.

But at the same time, he is increasingly worried about the acute pollution problems caused by tannery waste, which has badly polluted ground water, impacted on the health of local residents and has also affected crops grown in the area. READ ON

Electronic Lebonan: Environmentalists urge quicker clean-up as oil-spill again threatens sea

Oil contamination is the worst kind of contamination there is. It can stay in the ground forever if it goos untreated..... 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes of oil sends shiver down my spine:

Black slime coats beaches and oozes into rock pools in northern Lebanon, nine months after an oil spill led to international pledges to clean that stretch of coast. Oil clings to beach after beach north of Byblos, an ancient fishing port that is one of Lebanon's main tourist attractions.

Israel bombed an oil refinery in Jiyyeh, south of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, during its conflict with the armed wing of Lebanese political party Hezbollah last July. The bombing caused the refinery to spew an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes of fuel oil into the Mediterranean Sea. It was Lebanon's worst environmental disaster, say environmentalists. Read on

Toronto Star: Selfish desires taint altruism

Karen Zhou discusses the flip side of having activities which focus on the activity rathar than the purpose of the activity.

Actually in my later years in university a lot of development issues were beecoming a fad to arrange events about. which was good in one way but on the other hand some people would organize a lot of stuff without actually questioning the results of those activities....

anyways read the article below..

Volunteering is altruism in action. Based on the principle of altruism, volunteers are not motivated by any sense of selfish desire for something in exchange for their service.

Unfortunately, in contemporary society, I have encountered many people whose sense of altruism is questionable.

There are more people today whose service to the community appears driven by the expectation of an extrinsic reward rather than an inner
desire to help the needy.

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!!

Web MD: 22 Healthy Munchies ( does not include laddus!)

My biggest weekness in terms of eating habts is snacking. When I see a choclate bar or something similar my inclination is to have it in full, I cant have small bits..... Besides that, if I open a bag of brownies I usually finish those within two days! So some damage control is definately needed. Anyways read this link below to find out more about the small healthy snacks you should/could enjoy. And perhaps when you get married you can have high fibre healthy snacks given after the snacks. I am sure the uncles and auntees will love you for that and that your ( future) sopuse wont get freaked out! After all Laddus have no fibre in them or....................ummm.... do they?

Dietitians agree that the best snacks satisfy hunger while helping meet our daily dietary needs, especially for fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy.

"Look for snacks that contain protein with healthy carbohydrates and fats, and eat your snacks slowly so they fill you up," says Weems. Read on

Christian Science Monitor: "Overexposure: When media coverage blocks out the sun"

A relevant article on the state of the media ( the mainsream North American media to be exact) and how they cover things today.  A lot of issues that we worry about are the issues in the media. When the issues arent there then we arent worried. ( We being the muslim community and/or the general community). An example was the cartoon issue which came and went at the will of the media. It was an issue before the media made it an issue and then it died down while it is still an issue right now! ( as in things really did not change when the issue died down) Moreover if we divide each issue into subsets, the media really wants  focus on one subset. In other words they define the frame with which each issue is looked at. Do you remember Hurricane Katrina? I thought and think the ammount of coverage the event initially received and the coverage it receives one year after the event is hugely dispropotional. Dont we want to know what happened to the thousands of people whgo got displaced? Same can be said about other disasters. Anyways please do read this article:

"It is an enormously complicated world, and every day,

all over, things happen that matter. It may sometimes seem that stories

come from nowhere, like the terrorist attacks on 9/11. But it's often

the case that these events are surprises only because we weren't paying

attention, and we probably weren't paying attention because the media

weren't paying attention.

There are reasons people buy books or pay to see

movies. Plots are nice. Stories move from A to B to C and at the end,

generally, everything is tied together nicely. But the news isn't a

movie or a book. Stories rise and fall and rise again, and they usually

don't do it in a linear, neat way." Click here to read more

BBC Shehr Kahani: Videos on the life of ordinary Pakistanis

A look into the lives of ordinary Pakistanis by BBC's Urdu Service. Each video is 5 to 10 minutes long and gives a good insight ( the good, the bad and the ugly) into the lives of ordianary Pakistanis ( or for that matter insight into problems normal people face on the streets of many developing countries). Needless to say you need to understand urdu to watch these.....thank you Khany for pointing me to these..

This is the first short documentary I edited, made by community people from rural Pakistan, who were trained by BBC Word Service Producers. This is the story of a woman who ran away from her home in Hyderabad, and settled in Multan, as a man. In order to work at the Public Call Office that she manages, she dresses as and passes for a boy:

http://www.youtube.com/v/hSNjh-c91RQ

This is the second short documentary I edited made by community people from rural Pakistan, trained by BBC World Service. This is the story of a small village in Haripur, Pakistan, which is surrounded by three cement factories. The waste from the factories is causing the locals a lot of problems:

http://www.youtube.com/v/Ufq9rNuBS-o

The third in the series of short documentaries that I edit, made by community people from rural Pakistan. This is an inspiring story of a woman who lives in rural Pakistan, who is a committed social worker and politician:

http://www.youtube.com/v/aHyfHMoovA8

The fourth short documentary from the Shehr Kahani series, also shot and directed by community people from rural Pakisan. Faqero is a gifted sculptor whose work can be seen at many Hindu temples in Pakistan:

http://www.youtube.com/v/tkCN_Dnc0ZU

This fifth short documentary in the Shehr Kahani series is an oral history of the great sufi saint Shams, as told by one of his devotees. Illustrated by beautiful shots of his shrine and the atmosphere there, this is one of my favourites. Although I say that for every one of these I edit. The fact that all of these are shot and directed by 'authentic' community people makes the subject matter - and visuals - just so much more interesting, and a pleasure to edit:

http://www.youtube.com/v/U9G9gcy4Pk4


The sixth short documentary in the Shehr Kahani series. Ibrahim tells us about the art of moulding clay into beautiful designs:

http://www.youtube.com/v/6N35M2fuKWM


The seventh short documentary in the BBC Urdu Shehr Kahani series. This was also shot and directed by community people from rural Pakistan, and is the story of a woman who lived a very difficult life, but in the end did what she wanted to:

http://www.youtube.com/v/1-QiKTMAm7Q


The eighth short documentary in the Shehr Kahani series. Mohammed Amin has no hands, but earns enough money to sustain himself and send his children to school:

http://www.youtube.com/v/qMwdjvamueA


The ninth short documentary in the Shehr Kahani series tells the story of Francisnagar, where unusually high levels of rain in 2006 caused water to stagnate in the whole village. The people of Francisnagar were forced by fedual lords to work and live in the water, which was causing them many health problems:

http://www.youtube.com/v/DYfqbit2Jx4


The tenth short documentary in the Shehr Kahani series. Balram supports his family by selling balloons and stamping mehndi tattoos on children. But he wishes he was born in a 'rich' family so that he could go to school:

http://www.youtube.com/v/1akibUINeQU

The eleventh documentary in the Shehr Kahani series. This is the story of Talib, who lives in a small village in Dadu District. He is blind, but is a poet, singer, shopkeeper and electrician! And he loves life, as well as Rani Mukerjee:

http://www.youtube.com/v/BHYfqFPjbME

Virtuous action....

From a 4 page expert of Hamza Yusuf's unpublished book called "Walk on Water":

According to Ahmad, Jesus (allahi-salam) was known
to have said, “Virtuous action does not
consist in doing good to someone who
has done good to you—that is merely
returning a favor. Virtuous action consists
in doing good to those who have wronged
you.”

More on Bob Woolmer from Cricinfo: Price of Passion

An article from Cricinfo dicusses the pressures of cricket in South Asia:

We were sitting down to lunch after the depressing trip to the University Hospital when a man came by and asked: "Da coach who die? He Pakistan coach now?" When we said yes, he shook his head sadly, dreads blowing in the breeze. 'Maybe he take it to heart?" he said. "Even da biggest team can lose to little team, man. It a game, and da ball round."

As you listened to him, you could only wish that fans back home in India and Pakistan were possessed of such common sense or perspective on life.

A sad day for cricket

It is a very sad day for cricket. No I am not talking about Pakistan being knocked out of the cricket world cup.


I am talking about the death of Pakistan's cricket coach Bob Woolmer. He was a thorough professional, great innovator (and a wonderful person from his blog, articles and his interviews that I saw). Speculation is rife that his death ( assuming it was of natural causes) was a result of the stress yesterday's loss produced, but Allah knows best. ( here is a really good personal interview with him on Geo TV)

Having browsed through different Internet forums, loads of Pakistani cricket fans are expressing their sadness and shock. Most if not all are calling it a bigger tragedy then Pakistan's failure at the world cup. It is good to know that cricket fans are putting things into perspective. Lots of sports fans ( including myself) sometimes take sports too seriously forgetting that "it" is just a game and there are much more important things in life to worry about....

Tributes from leading cricket experts from cricinfo.

Condolences to his family....

Remember the Pakistani earthquake?

It was very easy to talk and rant about the tragedy of the earthquake when it first happened. But it is even easier to forget them now. Please do think of them now...

But the fact of the matter is that there are still thousands of people who are affected by the earthquake as this UN article reports:

An old, bearded man launched an angry tirade at aid agency officials who had come to visit a quake-displaced community living in tents in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

“We have had no water, no electricity for weeks,” he shouted. “There are no bathrooms and people are falling sick in the cold and rain.”

Nearly a year and a half after a devastating earthquake ripped through northwest Pakistan, survivors say that living in shelters, whether tented or pre-fabricated, can be unbearable at times...............

How you can help? Well for one thing please make dua. I did a quick online search and there arent any call of donations from the earthquake rebuilding ogranizations whose websites I checked. ( let me know if you know otherwise)

Mooslim.ca:A Guide to Reforming Islam: Let’s Start with the Funny Way They Dress

ALi's interesting post on www.mooselim.ca :

"To practicing Muslims rules are everywhere. In Islamic fashion, these laws exist in the form of certain conditions and guidelines that clothing must fulfil. For example, “men are supposed to avoid silk clothing”. Or “women are supposed to cover their hair”. There is no such parallel in non-Muslim fashion — a person can wear (or not wear) pretty much anything.

These rules irk non-Muslim Canadians. Yes, we Muslims get the message: The way practicing Muslims dress (especially Muslim women) in Canada scares you and you want us to stop dressing-funny.

And now that you’ve got the idea in your head to change the way we dress, after having spent that time flipping through “Islam-for-Dummies” in Chapters that one Sunday, you have decided that the best way to change the way we dress is by starting with the laws. Let’s get rid of most of them, right?..............."

In interior BC

Afer 1 day in Vancouver, I had work in interior BC which is where I flew in on Tuesday morning and stayed till Thursday morning.

I was in Vernon, Pitickton,Kelowna and Kamloops. Out of the four Kelowna was the most beautiful. Below are a few more pics and descriptions






These three pictures were from Pitickton. There are two lkaes in Pitickton and both were amazingly breathtaking even at this time of the year.











These pics were taken on my way from Pitickton to Kelowna. One of the most breathtaking drives I have ever been on. It was great there were viewpoints all along where I would stop and take pictures. The reflection of the hills in the lake was just awesome!




My next stop was Kelowna. Another great small city with great views.





My last two stops were Vernon and Kamloops. They were very nice too but My day was really busy so I did not get too much sightseeing done at these plces. The above are some more pics from the two places.




This last picture is from my flight to Kamloops to Vancouver. It is a very nice bird eyes view of the hills in BC.

Very blessed to have this kind of work with some travelling. Thanks to the people at work who sent me and of course most importantly thank you Allah for sending me there and opening my eyes to these great views.......

What a city! (Vancouver, BC)

I have been lucky enough to travel to the other side of Canada (i.e. British Columbia) this week for Work. Today I was in Vancouver and found out first hand why this city is such a "in" place to live in.

It is a city with a lot of character, natural beuety, great weather ( if you dont mind rain) and beutiful arhitecture. I was just amazed on how so much can be packed in such small area.



It was my first expreince of the Pacific Ocean. The views from Vancouver's beaches (picture above) are all breathtaking even in this foggy weather. I wonder how they look when the sun is out.



One thing I noticed was that there seems to be a higher ratio of local businesses in Vancouver compared to the bigger chains which seem to dominate the markets in other big cities.That I belve givs the city more character.

Ah. The ocean, the beach, the mountains, the tall buildings, the bridges, the big ships. WHat a city!

The Daily SHow; Houston Mosque problem

A odd thing happenning in Texas as reported by The Daily Show. See video below.