Makorani's

Goodbye, Blogspot

2012-01-30T15:24:00.000+04:00

Moved to Wordpress... and slowly moving some posts there too!

Would love to see you guys there. :-)

Here before...

2011-01-07T00:34:00.002+04:00

‎"I wrote it because I remembered, when my daughter was born,
this old lady looked at her and said 'Oh she's been here before!'"

Once I had a child,

she was smiling like sunshine she could

see it all, like she's been here before...

Oman Census 2010

2010-12-15T20:43:00.000+04:00

Image I received after completing the Census2010 forms online.
Transl. "Thank you for your cooperation in the success of this national project."

A girl with a PDA (Fact: Oman is the first country to use PDAs for a census) introduced herself to me at our front door, telling me she's from Census2010. "Ask her for ID! You can never be sure!" my mother shouts from the living room. A bit embarrassing since the girl actually heard that, but true, the girl with a PDA, a big Census2010 badge and a Census2010 forms could be a criminal who murdered a person from the census to take over her volunteer work. She proved she was who she was. I was then comfortable telling her that yes, I do in fact live here. Hopefully that explained why I, out of all people, opened the door for her.

She asked whether we'd like to have another person to visit to fill in the forms or that we'd do it online on our own. My mother shouts from the living room: "ONLINE." Again, she heard and I didn't need to repeat. This morning I filled in all the forms online after receiving a warning message: "Today is the last day to fill in the census forms, if they are incomplete a volunteer will visit you." I woke up at 5 and finished it all knowing my mother would not be pleased having a Census2010 volunteer asking her how old she is.

Anyone seen the OmanCensus website? It looks pretty cool, I like it, A government website that looks good for once. Last census was in 2003, and for those who remember, our textbooks were printed with an image of two cross-eyed kids as a Census2003 logo(I know it wasn't intended, but they did look cross-eyed, we made jokes about it for a year), was such a fail. It's cute this year though:

Ohhh and one more thing, I use Chrome not IE, but the online form does not support Chrome, just a heads up for those who chose to do it online.

Queen Elizabeth in Oman

2010-11-25T14:22:00.000+04:00

So I wasn't in this world to witness her last visit, looking forward to watching Oman TV today, last time I switched to that channel was in Ramadhan to hear the Athan and break my fast.

This is a really interesting video a friend of mine shared on my wall, Queen Elizabeth's visit in 1979!

Click here to watch. Love the beginning with Omanis dancing.

And the Sultan is so young! :-)

On the occasion of the 40th National Day of Oman ...

2010-11-05T21:47:00.002+04:00

I send my early greetings to the Sultan and the people of Oman, and ask:

WHY?!

Source: HM "okay"s National Day Logo

Not sure what I think about in regards to the oversized, non-symmetrical, photoshopped doves. Or the number four piercing through the southern region. Or the background? What the hell is going on there? And if you read Arabic you'll realize that the text below is stretched out in a Terrible way. God, I'll cry. I think the "Okay" in the news was the Sultan saying "Okay just take it AWAY!"

Happy 40th.

Florence and the Machine - Blinding

2010-10-13T14:41:00.000+04:00

FB: The horror of having a profile picture.

2010-09-21T02:48:00.003+04:00

I immediately went and privatized everything, removed my profile picture (which was my own picture) and replaced it with one of green apples. That's what they pushed me to do. They pushed other girls to remove theirs completely to a blank Facebook default picture.

Why?

A group of young men here decided to open a Facebook group called 'Whores of Oman', thankfully after all the reporting and flagging, its been removed, but I am still Very annoyed at how we're being controlled. We are made to feel guilty, even filthy, for putting up a picture of ourselves on our facebook.

What they did was gather pictures of Omani girls, (who had the nerve of posting their pictures on their facebook for MEN to see, gasp), they even urged other people to "add more pictures of these whores!" - A punishment for any girl who thought of adding a picture of herself during some travels, or during Eid, or at school with friends: being added to the group.

The idea of a girl having the freedom to post pictures of herself online was something to gasp about a few years back, I'm not sure about all circles, but many girls would never do it, "Then guys will save them!" - That is what my mother has been warning me about too, she knows this society, she worries: "Noora, be careful, a girl's reputation is fragile." But what am I doing to deserve to live this worry! "You're not doing anything wrong, Noora, but this society, it's not merciful!" - The fear of losing one's reputation in this society really moves us around, steps on us, makes us change our profile pictures to apples.

Why should I feel guilty for posting a decent picture?

Why should I fear not 'finding a good husband' for that matter?
I don't WANT to marry a guy who has problems with me posting a picture of myself eating cake!

I let some backward, judgmental cowards make me change the picture of myself from my Egypt trip near the pyramids of Giza (was a really cool trip), cause I feared they'd add it to the 'Whores of Oman' group ...

But ...

You know what, Screw it, I'm changing it back.

And here's a clearer picture, just for them to add it to the group:

Love,

Whore of Oman

P.S: As I captioned on facebook,
"Who cares about the Sphinx? The only reason I took this was to get the guy in red in the picture."

Germany 09: Holocaust Museum (2)

2010-08-27T17:44:00.000+04:00

The picture on the left (off the web) is of the Holocaust Memorial, designed by Peter Eisenman.

I stood there as my professor explained what the sea of gray constructions were about, I was thinking: Gosh, first in Aachen with the "So that we may not forget" board, now a whole memorial.

It felt cruel in a way having people remember this for so long, it's not their fault. I remember going up to my German language professor and telling her that. I just couldn't grasp why a country would focus on the wrongdoings of those before them so much.

She said to me that evil and hatred cannot be fully eradicated, and Germans acknowledge that, and see it with the neo-nazis too. It is their duty to condemn, and continue to condemn the holocaust. If they forget how horrible it was, what it did to people, what it turned them into, they will not be as safe as they could be from falling into the same mistake again if they remembered.

I took the suggestion to go to the museum, "it's really sad, just horrible" Anne warned.

I chose to wear the headsets, I'm not that good of a reader and I like stories, so wore the headset and pressed play to hear the explanations of the exhibits around me. The headsets then turned me into a sobbing Jewess (Two boys passed, the elder telling the other I'm crying cause I'm Jewish) - wouldn't make sense if I was a Muslim, I guess, haha.

My visit ended, I left the museum and saw that everyone had finished going through the museum before me. With my nose all red my classmates stared at me in confusion, and I received a comment that shocked me from one of them: "You're silly Noora, crying over that, if you want to cry then do over Palestinians, not Jews."

That visit impacted me. See, all I got about the holocaust were comments related to the Palestinian conflict, which means they were comments like the one by my classmate above. I realized this is our problem, not just Muslims, but everyone who wouldn't want to label Wrong as Wrong just because of the background they're affiliated to. The duty of condemning what bad happens to other humans shouldn't be fogged up by prejudice.

Germany 09: Holocaust Museum (1)

2010-08-24T05:49:00.000+04:00

Image by Bec

It's been a year since I've been to Germany, back then I decided to write a journal for this visit, but I never shared anything online. I'm beginning a series of posts about my visit, also bringing some old topics that were up during the time I was there.

Being shown around by our professor and his wife, other German students as well, it was interesting how they spoke about their thoughts on WW2. "So that we may never forget," were what boards hanging around Aachen said. On those iron board words were engraved about the mistreatments and injustices people faced under Nazism. I remember asking my German language professor: "But why shove it in peoples' faces? You have nothing to do what the Nazis did!" - She stressed though: "So that we may never forget".

They know their history, and they know it quite well, these Germans. This could be a generalization, but all the Germans I met all knew why they needed to know their history: So it would never be repeated again. - Such an odd thing it was to me and the other Omanis: we don't know our real history. Our history books are sugar coated, everything was perfect, this country was built on nothing but integrity and God's blessing, or so we've been taught.

See, never did it cross my mind that I would pay a visit to the Holocaust museum during my visit to Germany, the idea just didn't come up, not something that would interest me. It was a suggestion by Anne, my professor's then very pregnant wife, who is also a lecturer at our university that introduced me to beautiful Yiddish music.

More on my visit itself in the coming post. A visit I cannot forget.

Ehud Barack wishes you a Blessed Ramadhan

2010-08-11T17:28:00.005+04:00

For those who don't read Arabic it says (rough translation):

The State of Israel
Ministry of Defense

Greetings on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadhan
We wish all the Muslim citizens of the State of Israel and their families the most beautiful blessings.
We pray that the Almighty that it returns as a month filled with goodness and blessings.

May your fasting be accepted and your break-fast delicious.
May every year pass and you are in best shape.

Ehud Barak,
Minister of Defense

Al-Quds newspaper, Friday 06-Aug-2010

I wonder if this is the first time it's published, or if the newspaper publishes it every year? I found it on a website where people were commenting on how furious they were about it, the title of the thread was "The Murderer wishes Muslims a blessed Ramadhan" - eek!

I found it Very interesting anyway. (1) Ehud Barak is Jewish, (2) addressing the Muslim citizens of Israel, interesting how he stressed on them being Israeli citzens, like he's telling others: "hey guys! We have MUSLIM citizens among us btw!"

And something else that's interesting is that (3) the newspaper Al-Quds (Palestenian Newspaper) published it!

I guess things there aren't as black-&-white as many of us outside that area think it is.

Ramadhan Kareem!

“Did it hurt when Adam fell from Heaven?” Pt.1

2010-05-28T14:11:00.005+04:00

"Did it hurt when Adam fell from Heaven?" - A post on Islam and Evolution.

In the Omani school system, there is no course teaching or even brushing on the topic of Evolution. In my 12 years of school, the sentence summing up what was mention about Evolution is: “Darwin said we’re all apes. What a moron. Now let’s talk more about God’s creation…”

With that in mind, one could imagine the discomfort the Omani science students felt (me among them) when the picture of Darwin was up on one of the slides and having our foreign professor say: “Now let’s talk more about Darwin’s theory of Evolution…”

Shockingly, to me, believing that I am a somewhat religious person, it was a beautiful thing to learn. I felt my mind opening up again to questions I kept on hold for a long, long time. Could I share that with others? No. I couldn't. I did eventually, though, and got everyone around me feeling Very Worried.

I was on the path to Atheism, they believed, and even expressed a few times. Their logic was: If I began to believe that things gradually appeared on earth, I will begin to doubt the Qur'an which says otherwise, when I doubt the Qur'an, I will slowly begin to doubt God's hands in all this, and one by one, I would end up losing my faith in a creator.

I began to worry myself: What is happening to me? Am I losing my faith? Is this what it's all about? God, help me. I'm only trying to Understand.

Being at the bookshop one day, I found a book titled: "The obligation of Thinking in Islam", by Abbas Mahmoud al Aqad, and thought: Yes!

I was Afraid of thinking, afraid that I'm thinking the wrong way, suggesting that there is a Right way to think that I didn't know of, and this book was going to show me how to "Think Islamically".

Buying the book alone was a relief to me, before I had even began to read. I went through verses, many of them, speaking about "Those who Think". I am going to choose simple verses that I saw deliver the same messages others did.

From Surah Al Ghashiyah, verses: 17-22:

"Do they not look at the camels - how they were created?
And the heaven, how it was raised?
And the mountains, how they were set?
And at the earth - how it is spread out?
So remind, [O Muhammad]; you are only a reminder.
You are not over them a controller."

How were they created? How was it raised? How were they set? How was it spread out? How!

The book helped me see I was in fact on the right path, I must think, I must question ... but there was one thing it didn't help me with. It didn't show me an Islamic way of thinking. It showed me that there was One way of thinking, which is driven by Human Curiosity. We either Think, or we Don't. We either go by our curious nature, or we supress it because of fear.

With Islam becoming a social aspect of our life more than a Belief in something, more problems arise with the thought about Questioning. Just today I read through a post on a local forum (which inspired me to write this post) where many attacked an Omani girl who expressed some of her questions.
"What an ATHEIST", one of the replies were to her. She was strong enough not to care about what anyone would label her, maybe she is, maybe she isn't, it's none of their business and she's thinking for herself. But the fact that such thoughts are being surpressed and degraded is a sad one.

A Muslim could not express his or her views regarding anything in fear of being attacked, which in return expresses the attacker's fears, I believe.

I will continue this post, speaking more about Islam and Evolution, this post was just a start expressing views on Islam and Thinking, since it will be needed for my next post which starts with a memory:

When I was little I had a question about Adam: "Did it hurt when Adam fell from Heaven?"
I couldn't get an answer to that, because: "That's not mentioned in the Qur'an."

"Do they not look...?"

Virtual Piano

2010-04-20T15:17:00.003+04:00

My new hobby is trying to figure out how to play songs on VirtualPiano.net

Last night I spent an hour trying to figure out how to play the intro to Caprica's theme song, I got the keys so if you'd like to try it out here it is:

O #P O #P O #P O #P

#I #P #I #P #I #P #I #P

#P P O - G D

S #D D P #P

D S P

#P P O

GH J #J #S

#G G #D S D

Enjoy!

Girls agreed: "He has the right to hit me".

2010-02-06T19:27:00.006+04:00

I love how it's "practices wife beating"

The idea of God commanding, even allowing, wife-beating is absurd. And since we can agree on that, as a Muslim, I cannot accept that Islam supports that, even though many confidently say it’s rational, and how their interpretation reveals a “wonderous nature” to the verse (Quoted from this cutie: “Only a rod”).

What set me off was hearing my sister complain that her Islamic class teacher at school told her she was wrong and asked her to stop arguing when she disagreed with his statement that wife-beating was a right the man had.

I was also heartbroken hearing Muslim women also saying they “accept this right God has given to men”.

*Slaps*

How? How did women reach to the point where they see physical abuse as something they deserve? There are younger women who are still not married who also agree that it's a right they can't deny, even though they don't like to, they have to accept it. Like polygamy! (Need another post for that)

Knowing that the verses have been interpreted by men throughout the history of Islam does in a way point towards the problem, maybe. Putting religion and cultural/social issues aside, this is a human inflicting harm upon another, how could that ever be justified?

1- The Verses:

As seen in different languages, Arabic words may carry multiple meanings. Nail, Nail, Nail. I have Nails. Hit that Nail with a hammer. You Nailed it. See? It happens. In the verse about dealing with marital problems, the word “Ethraboohunn”, which is originated from the word “Ethrab” also has multiple meanings. It can be “To leave”, “To go away/far”, or “To beat”.

And what do the Male interpreters go by? “To beat”.

The Quran has been subjected to interpretations from a single point of view, while it is there for us to think through with a more open mind.

Thanks to our sister, Laleh Bakhtiar, the first American woman to translate the Quran, the fire of the initial encouraged teaching throughout the Quran of “Thinking for yourself” has been rekindled. Such a trouble-maker isn’t she? Check her website where she discusses this verse and her so-called new, controversial view by traditionalists on the first page: http://www.sublimequran.org/

2- The Prophet’s Example:

We have a saying by Aisha, the prophet’s wife, where she describes him as “A walking Quran”, which means he lived by it. So in order to get an understanding of the Quran, we can look back at his life and how he lived, since the Quran is basically why he was sent.

She also narrates that: “The Prophet has never struck a child, woman, or servant ever.”

There are also hadeeths – sayings by the prophet- expressing condemnations towards those who physically abuse their wives. Three which I know, one condemning those who “beat their wives like animals during the daytime” then sleep with them in the evening like nothing happened. Another is his advice to a lady who asked him about two men who proposed, he advised her against marrying one of them as he is “known to hold a rod”, aka Wife-beater, third saying "The best of you do not include those who beat their wives."

3- Toothbrush attack; “No, the verse really does mean to hit but Veeeery lightly, with a tooth-brush.”

To be fair, since I hated the thought of Ethraboohun meaning “Beat them”, I tried looking through the thoughts of scholars I respected to find something against that, and I took in that explanation, even if now I realize the irony there, but see, that’s what I knew best back then…

I used to believe in the concept “Ijmaa’ al Umma”, which means “The agreement among the majority of scholars”, which I now come to understand is used to go against the “minority’s view”. Every view counts, just because one thought is accepted by a minority it cannot be an excuse or a proof of its invalidity.

10 say women should be beaten. 2 say they shouldn’t. How could this issue be based on the numbers of those who go by it?

What I think of the toothbrush attack now, in my friend's words:

“Tooth brush? So my husband, while we’re in a fight, when he’s in absolute rage, would run to the toilet, grab a ****ing toothbrush, then come and gently tap it on my shoulder to show me his ‘discontent’? What. A. ****ing. P***y. You know what, if my husband did that … I’D ****ing beat HIM!”

4- Think about it.

For fellow Muslims: please don’t think Islam cannot undergo reform, we’ve been the worst group for quite a long time, but what’s worse is that it could’ve always been resolved if people stopped relying on others in their thoughts. Scholars are just other men, they don’t have any extra knowledge or hidden understandings of Islam, and you could get their exact same knowledge and more on your own.

Islam isn’t supposed to be kneeling on the thoughts of “Religious Figures”. Scholars should be people who study a subject in Islam intensively and explain it in a non-biased way, which is hard to do, human nature is to put in your own opinion and thoughts, so at the end, always think for yourself. As the prophet said: "Take your heart's opinion, even if people give you theirs, and they always will". And that goes to me too, I’m struggling to understand far from cultural prejudices and preconceptions, hard, but doable.

1st Muscat Tweetup

2009-10-09T22:25:00.007+04:00

First of all, many thanks to my high school English teacher who taught me how to write good persuasive essays. I decided to E-mail Dad after thinking that going up and saying: "Oh yeah, um, Dad, I'm like going to this cafe for this Tweetup, going to meet 25+ Tweeple I know from Twitter..." would result in an unwanted "...Come again?" response.

So I sat down and wrote an essay titled "Why I want to go to the Tweetup, Love Noora" to which he replied: "Go for it."

I then got back to @Amiohh and told her: We're going!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

There we are! - Taken by @blue_chi

So from calling it a Twestival we ended up calling it a Tweetup cause the Twestival Police said a "Twestival" is supposed to be a charity event - Woops! ... Anyway, Mom says Smiles are a form of Charity... and just look at those smiling faces up there.

The tweetup was great for a first one, very good organization (Thanks to @sangitasridhar, @kishorcariappa and @muscati) ... we even had a raffle and goodie bags were given out! Gifts were from the Tweeple attending themselves - Next time I'm getting the one thing that was missing: Candy.

We weren't all able to exchange conversations, something that should be focused on next time is getting everyone to mingle, no grouping up, but I guess we were all sort of shy in a way for a first meetup.

As for the conversations they were mostly friendly talks about who we are and what we do, one funny question I got was from @lasiaf asking if I was the tweep with the lizard thing, to make sure I was @Makorani ... he meant the skink I found and posted a picture of on my twitter.

I also waited for someone to call me Macaroni instead of Makorani, and yes, @blue_chi and @baderhinai thought I named myself after food.

The mystery still continues on the true identity of @muscattwestival, but I have been promised to be DM-ed with the truth soon. And I am waiting. According to MuscatTwestival I am one of the Tweeps who investigated their ID the most, not really sure what that tells you about my life.

At the end I just want to send a special shout out to @Amiohh, we've been online friends for a long time and it was great finally meet up :-)

Till the next tweetup!

Hamed Al-Busaidi

2009-07-18T18:55:00.006+04:00

I opened his website again, but today I found that they added his picture. Its been 6 days since Hamed passed away.

This post won’t be a sad one. I t shouldn’t be. I’m writing about a young man who was a good friend and real brother to my friends and I. Someone with a good sense of humor and a kind heart. Someone who never forgot to visit his sisters back in Muscat whenever he came by, he even used to attend our presentations for support. And of course a brave young man - although we didn't realize how true this was until after his death - who fought a chronical illness but never made us feel there was something wrong.

I met Hamed two years ago when we attended the same Maths classes, unlike myself, he understood it. We were only a few students but we all agreed that Hamed was what we’d say in my dialect “Khosh Rayyaal” (A man to count on). He had to leave the country that year for treatment on something he said was very minor, but he always (two lines under always) came to visit us at the university when he was over for holidays. Even sometimes when he drives to Muscat (he lived in Barkaa) he’d drop by just to say hello to his old mates.

A person who made us happy when he was alive wouldn’t want us to be sad when he’s not around anymore. Hamed's visits always made us happy. It would be unfair that now, after his death, his name would bring us sadness. That would be far from what he intended to leave behind.

I will share Hamed’s website: http://5starsphoto.com – He always encouraged me on sharing pictures there, though I totally suck. He would jokingly say it was okay if I sucked, because there are many people who’d tell me where I sucked and I would be able to fix it. Grr, critics!

Hamed made the website for all Omani Photographers to join in and share their hobbies and talents, many famous photographers are on there – all who'll surely miss Hamed.

Hamed was a great photographer himself, won international prizes, joined in exhibitions (last exhibitions was months ago where he joined in with a photograph of the Grand Mosque). I would LOVE for you all to check it out and see his work. It’ll make you smile.

Fi amanillah, Hamad. :-)
نلتقى بالجنة إن شاء الله

Attitude problems?

2009-07-11T18:21:00.002+04:00

Funny news: Genie's got Attitude!

Traces of Light.

2009-05-29T00:35:00.004+04:00

"It isn't the sun, my dear" the mother would say.
"It is the sun's shadow."

"But it looks like a sun, mother!" the child would repeat.

"It does, but it is a mere trace of it.

The sun, though, has already left."

Hi

2009-05-13T00:14:00.002+04:00

I'm up way past my bedtime, my eyelids are burning.

I am up, after a long break, to write a few things. I don't think I can let my soul partially depart my body (aka fall sleep) without doing this for some reason.

a) I want to live on an island.

b) I have kidney stones, apparently. But no worries, they say there's a possibility they're tiny and can be flushed out of my kidney. Till then, "OUCH".

c) It is silly when people from different religions fight about who's right by dissing the other's religion. You will not find what is "right" this way, you're just engaging in useless discussions that will slowly - maybe without you noticing - start getting coated with ego and the determination to 'WIN!' instead of remaining on your pure intention of showing others your point of view of what you see as true.

Stop it people.

Seriously.

I'm getting sick of you. And so are Harry & J. L. Alphons the Second (my alleged Kidney stones).

Also before leaving I want to say Happy Birthday to Mr. Winston, one of the most favourite teachers I ever had. The other professor whose birthday and mine are on the same day left Oman for good, I'm so sad, but at least I'll get to meet him this Summer Inshallah. And also a shout out to Jeff and his family - I hope you didn't give up on the surprise!

Good night all,
Noora (Yes, I changed from Bogus to UmKhalid to my real name, finally.)

Closed Zone - Yoni Goodman

2009-03-14T13:24:00.004+04:00

Closed Zone * שטח סגור * منطقة مغلقة

Click on the picture to watch the video.

An Israeli made this. Oh how much I wish to show this to the TV host who advised against joining an Israeli who was working on a project under the title of Humanity.

They are not all the same, sir. They are not all the same.

75 Year Old Receiving Bread: Vice Squad to the Moral Rescue.

2009-03-11T15:01:00.007+04:00

75 year old sentenced to 40 lashes for being with non-relatives who are 50 years younger.

It was only last night that I heard of yet another retarded decision taken on regards to the great moral Islamic achievement of the so called "Committee of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" when they 'caught' a 75 year old with two young men, one of which she has told to be her son and the other a young man who brought her bread.

Um, Allahu Akbar? What a victory?

Anyway, aside to the fact that they actually accused the lady of being in a morally-challenged state (Sitting in her house with her son and his friend who got her bread, mind you), she was sentenced to 40 lashes. :-) ... My only reaction is a mixture of hysterical laughs and screams, 90% of which I kept to myself.

Why do I find this going strongly against my thoughts and feelings as a human being if this is what my creator wants?!

Reading comments on other websites it scares me, despite the small number, that there are one or two, among every ten people condemning this, saying "Well deserved."

What religion, what ethics and what common sense allows for this to be something accepted to happen to a 75 year old woman? How can someone even have the heart to stand and hit the old lady?

Going by this sense, Vice Squad would lash Abu Bakr Al Siddiq (The First Caliph after the Prophet) too.

Well, the records narrate Omar bin Al Khattab once said he followed Abu Bakr to see why he was away for hours and found a little hut with an old lady inside... He asked her about the man who came (Abu Bakr) and she said she doesn't know who he is but he always comes and cooks for her, cleans the house then leaves.

The woman didn't even know who Abu Bakr was, so yes, he wasn't a relative, he was in her house cooking and cleaning and helping her out. In what twisted mentality could this be something against morals and ethics? If Abu Bakr helped the old lady, why would these two young men be accused of it like it was a sin instead of praised?

I can only repeat Astaghfur Allah whenever I remember this.

Astaghfur Allah. (God, I ask for your forgiveness)

Update:

Link in English: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29601858/

I like...

2009-02-16T16:50:00.002+04:00

... the smell of Fruit & Vegetable shops.

"Behead those who mock Islam"

2009-02-13T17:08:00.004+04:00

Two Muslim girls messing around (chatlog):

"What the hell?"

"You heard me, I think we really should behead those who mock Islam."

"..."

"And I mean beheading these guys here: Link."

"LOL."

Salam Aleikom, I am Israel.

2009-02-12T23:30:00.005+04:00

“What is my grandson’s name going to be?” His mother asked him with pride while they were walking towards the hospital room.

“I was thinking… Israel.”

She laughed it off, Israel, sure.

“Oh so you like it?” he said with a naughty smile on his face.

“You’re not serious?!” she gasped with a shocked expression that couldn’t be hid.

“Why not! It’s a beautiful name. It’s what prophet Jacob was called, wasn’t it?”

He knew his mother would take it seriously, looking away she said: “But the people won’t understand that, they will make him hate his life. I know you have a good intention behind this, but I forbid you to let my grandson suffer from the ignorance out there. Not worth it.”

Laughing he bends over and kisses his mother’s forehead. “You’re right. People aren’t ready.”

“Seriously now, your eyes looking into mine, what are you naming your son?”

“Mama, this is proof that you’re getting old.” He chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“Mama, it's a GIRL"

שלום سلام Peace

2009-02-11T22:58:00.005+04:00

A photoshop design I just finished.

"See mama, the two words look very similar don't they!"

She squints, "Hmm, Subhan Allah (Glory be to God), they do."

The one on the top is "שלום" which is Shalom (Peace in Hebrew)

And the one on the bottom is "سلام" which is Salam (Peace in Arabic)

Mother continued to talk breaking the silence, I only realized what she meant after she left my room: "You know, Jegar ("my life", in Baluchi), it depends on the person who sees it. If someone wants to bring them closer, they'll see them close and similar. But others just don't to see that. It depends, at the end on your intention and how you want to see things. You see things according to your Niyya' (True intention)"

It took me some minutes to understand she was no longer talking about the two words I sketched on my drawing book (click here to see the initial sketch - after thickening the edges with photoshop though), but she actually moved on to talking about the Arab-Jewish relationship.

Sigh. Mama.

A rant of some sort.

2009-02-11T15:35:00.006+04:00

After being away for such a long time you'd think I'd come back with something that's actually worth it, but here I am ranting. I'm human, what to do ...

UmKhalid has been a very naughty Muslim lately, telling the people who she knows are boycotting American food that she's not boycotting anything.

Not exaggerating, but I quote what someone said to me with a dissapointed expression when they saw me drinking Sprite I bought from McDonalds: "And I for one thought you took religion seriously ..."

Eek!

I don't know him well, so just giggled and left - making him think that I thought he was joking, even though I knew he was serious. Sometimes it's necessary to act unaware to avoid useless arguments.

Now I understand peoples' opinions on boycotting, and how from their point of view it is affective. In my family itself we have people for and against the boycott ... and some who just don't give it a second thought.

My opinion?

Well ... that day, when I returned back from university after being looked at by some as a bad person, supporting terror by drinking Sprite, I thought about it again. Their eyes made me feel guilty, am I making a mistake? I don't want to be the type of person who does nothing effective, even when there are paths right infront of me waiting for me to take on them...

It didn't take minutes for be to be reassured that my decision was the right one for me. Like a heavenly sign, a friend whom I haven't talked to in over 5 months comes online with the nickname: "If you want Gaza to be saved, stop skipping your prayers."

You can take it literally, or take it by the verse which we go by (or should be going by) "God does not change the condition of people until they change what is within themselves," there are other ways to better this world, and for me, dear people, restricting myself from drinking Sprite and McD's fries isn't one of them. At least for me.

If he was among us - لو كان بيننا

2008-09-17T14:28:00.003+04:00

Still going on about Shegairy's programs... he's also going to have a new program aired after Ramadhan. I've been waiting for a long time to get a clearer video of his new program's intro and I finally found it yesterday! The new program which will be aired after Ramadhan will be called 'If he was among us'. He, as in the Prophet Mohammed Peace be upon him.

The idea of the program is that instead of trying to go back to the Prophet Mohammed's time and imagine how he lived back then, we'll bring Prophet Mohammed to the 21st century and imagine how he'd live if he was among us today.

Yesterday on the program I mentioned in the previous post, he brought some scenes from the new program for us to get an idea of how it's going to be. There will be a candid camera where people would be put in situations to see how they would act.

One scene he shows is of an old woman (who is part of the team) who walks and 'accidently' throws her purse. Here, he waits and sees what the people passing by would do. (Starts @ minute: 2:40)

Then another part of the program shows a 3D of Medina, "so this way," he says, "when we say Omar walked from here to there, you would know what we're talking about."

This really made me happy, because the first time I went to Medina (and the only time, may it never be the last), I was expecting to see all the things I heard about. Unfortunately, they didn't allow me, because other women ruined it for us by wailing, crazy.

Anyway, for the intro, wait until minute 0:44, it starts there. I will write another post explaining the Intro and what is written in Arabic in the background.

The Second Wife

2008-09-12T06:23:00.004+04:00

Laughing, she said: "I'm his second wife. What's funny is that the first wife does not know we're married!" She threw it in like spice while we were talking about a complete different topic.

I was too shocked to pay attention while she completed the other subject we were talking about. Looking at her, recalling her expressions when she told me that, I noticed that she liked the fact that his first wife didn't know ... a lot!

Why did she tell me? Well, sometimes it's safer to tell deep secrets to strangers, because you might never meet them again.

It's been a year since I saw this stranger, I barely remember how she looks like, I'm not sure about her name anymore ... so yeah, she's safe.

-*-

I've thought about it a lot, why do the Islamic rules I know say that informing the first wife about a second marriage is not a 'Must'? It doesn't even make sense, and as my mother would put it: "It's a form of betrayel!"

So today, I decided to search around and found other rulings about informing the wife which 'Cooled Down My Heart' (Arabic expression: برّد قلبي)

The Fiqh Scholar, Sheikh Moosa Al AbdulAziz says it is important, Islamically, to inform the first wife before deciding to get married. He also says that if the wife states in the marriage contract that she wants to be informed if her husband thinks of getting married, then it is turned into one of the Rules of Marriage, which means that his marriage will not be valid untill that rule is fulfilled.

He also hopes a rule would be issues to make it illegal to get married without informing the former wife.

Another Fiqh scholar, Khaled Al Shaye', says that the civil courts force the man to inform his first wife (don't know which country this is applied in). Women also have full right to mention in their marriage contract that the man must inform them in case he decides to remarry. If the man does not inform her, she has full right to divorce.

-*-

Thoughts:

(1) I wonder what else I could mention in my marriage contract: Ha ha ha!

(2) Would this woman still be laughing if she found out her husband remarried again behind her back? Maybe this way she'd taste what the first wife must've felt when she found out.

The Poem She Shared

2008-09-02T23:13:00.003+04:00

I wrote the name down: "Pushkin, a poet from the 18th century," she explained. "I love the rythem of Russian."

She goes on, reciting a poem in Russian. I do not understand the words, but the joy she showed while reciting made a big smile appear on my face. When she finished, I could not help but truthfully say: "Beautiful."

She explains that her English is not so good (although all her pronounciations and perfect British), she only learnt English at school. A funny incident she remembers is when she was riding a bicycle and tore her trousers by mistake. She went to a tailor, who happend to be British, and asked him to mend it. When she asked how much she should pay, he said: "Oh no no, with a beautiful Oxford accent like that, you pay nothing."

Trying to translate the poem 'Ya Vas Lubeel/Yubeel', which means: I Loved You, she said:

"I loved you, and love is possible,

But I do not wish to disturb you.

I wish for you to be loved by another,

the way my love is for you."

"That's Pushkin," she said with the sweetest smile on her face.

I searched online and found another translation, a more precise one, for the same poem

Karen's Poetry Blog

The Stranger on The Train

2008-09-02T22:55:00.002+04:00

[I Wish I Took Her Picture]

To her, I was the stranger. To me, she was. Sometimes, when you speak to a stranger, you find things in common, things you never thought you'd even get to share. I like speaking to strangers. I don't believe it will end there. Everything is connected, everything happens for a reason. Nothing is useless, even a simple smile I get from a stranger while riding the bus could change my day ... imagine what a wonderful conversation would do.

It's been two days and I'm still not over it.

Thank you, dear lady who offered me a seat right opposite to hers. Thank you for sharing so much and letting me share the same too.

I'm hoping, as your mother said, that you'll look down one day from Heaven to all the countries you haven't visited, have your eyes fall on Oman and remember me.

Thank you for sharing your love for poems, thank you for introducing me to the poet Pushkin and his beautiful poem 'I loved you', thank you for Spasibo, Das-Vi-Danya and Ezvin-neetyn (Thanks, Goodbye and Excuse me in Russian). Thank you for Dona Nobis Paks-em (Give Us Peace in Latin.)

I'm sorry you had to go through war, I love how your brother used to work to help starving people in Africa, and I was thrilled to know that I am taking the same course you did, sponsored by the same organization you were sponsored by, for also two-weeks to learn a language ... but 47 years later!

But you and I know the one who truly deserves to be thanked is God for arranging this meeting. Thank the All-Giving, All-Aware.

Ramadhan Kareem everyone!

Birthday Girl + Professor!

2008-09-01T17:03:00.004+04:00

Fur Ich! (I hope it's correct?)

First of all, thanks to all those who have greeted me on my birthday, either here (Jeff & meteor - welcome btw!), or on ES! Alright especially Jeff! I was really happy when I read the posts there =)

I actually got lost the same day, haha, so I was still thinking about that awkward experience and totally forgot about my birthday. Which was good. Because they threw me a surprise birthday party!

"Happy birthday to you" was sung to me in three different languages, in English, Arabic and German. Now what my professor did not know was that we knew it was his birthday too (or the others, I didn't until that night - So one more person to add to the August celebrations list!)

My professor and I are born on the 26th of August. How cool is that! And he's my favourite professor!

So, at 12 o'clock German time, we surprised him with a 'Happy Birthday to You' too.

The next day, he brought his beautiful car and all of us students took turns to ride it and go on a stroll. The picture above is of the Birthday People, on the 26th of August.

Back from Alemannia + Why Russian? + Other blog

2008-09-01T15:54:00.007+04:00

Oh I heart it alright. I miss it already.

(1)

After the two week trip to Aachen on the DAAD scholarship, I am back.

The highlight of my trip was me getting lost for two hours and reaching the Dutch borders. It was actually very funny. I don't know why I thought it was funny, I kept on laughing when I read a new name of a place I haven't heard of in the last week or when I saw meadows and sheep. "Sheep, haha," I thought, "where the heck am I, haha." Maybe laughterwas a natural physical response to extreme panicking.

I susprised myself when I burst into tears when I finally, after I found my way back and started running frantically towards the university's building, heard someone shout in the way: "Oh THERE you are!" ... "Yes!" I replied. "Now I need a hug!" - I received two comforting hugs.

While I was lost I asked help from 6 people, one did not speak English and I had to use all the German vocabulary I knew to help him show me the right bus to take. Another person ran away from me repeating: "Nein! Nein!" - I think it's because I was running down the street to where he was and frantically shouting: "ENGLISH?! ENGLISH?!" I probably scared the life out of the poor fellow, I'd be scared if a stranger in a mess was running towards me shouting CHINESE?! CHINESE?! ... or any other language's name.

And one old woman (who also only spoke German) offered help without me asking by asking me to follow her to a sign where she pointed to the bus 3A. I love her. I was this ( ) close to hugging her, but then my 'German People Appreciate Personal Space Alert' went on and I ended up holding my hands together and saying: "Danke! Danke Schon! Vielen Dank!" (Yes, all three, that was the only way to show appreciation.) The rest all were great help to me. That experience really shaped my view on Germans, they were more than willing to offer help, even the ones who couldn't speak English tried so hard, I really appreciated that *puts hand on heart*.

(2)

There's another blog, a kind of more official one, specially for the visit. But I think we'll need some time till we spread it since we have only two posts on it. The shame.

Tchuss!

08/08/08

2008-08-08T16:07:00.005+04:00

The only reason 08/08/08 is special is because this is the day my parents' complete 23 years of marriage.

I was born four years, 22 days after their marriage. This means in 22 days I'm completing 19 years of age. My aunt got married on my birthday, which is why my mother couldn't attend the wedding, so her wedding anniversary is in 22 days too. Nasser was born on the 12th, so his birthday's in 4 days.

August is a special month in our family!
(Except for my sister, who sees it as a poisoned month since it's the month before school starts)

Oh and I forgot to add: My friend Kawthar - This Girl Here - was born on the same day I was born, 26th of August 1989, so she'll be completing 19 in 22 days too!

Decorate your walls with the dead.

2008-08-07T23:52:00.002+04:00

My sister finds pleasure in hanging dead flying insects in frames on the wall ...

I'm still amazed that they're not decaying between the glass and white cussion.

Bob

2008-08-05T22:06:00.005+04:00

Nasser at the airport:

My brother's friends woke up at 3 AM, walked from their houses, just to come and say goodbye, how sweet is that!

He will reach there in half an hour Insha'Allah.

Edit (Update): He was NOT in L.A, sorry! He was in Washington D.C. He's now joined with his host family in Wisconsin, I got to talk to him and said they're really nice people. Hamdulillah =)

Palestine ...

2008-08-05T20:34:00.002+04:00

"Palestine, the clean spot on the stained Arab cloth." - Dr. Omar AbdulKafy

المسافر راح

2008-08-04T23:21:00.009+04:00

Before the sun is up, my brother, Nasser, will have left the country. \

About the map above, the route I drew is the route the plane is supposed to take. I drew it that way because think we should stop using straight routes in the air, we have all that space available and we should ENJOY flying ... That's why the route I drew isn't straight, NO because I don't have a stable hand, how could you even think that.

Anyway, I'm thankful for Rulers*.

Nasser's prepared his suitcase, we bought him some heavy clothes since it's very cold in Winter there. I'm sure he's going to do great there, he's a good young man. We'll see him again in ... 10 months, Insha'Allah.

*Rulers as in the long rectangular graded instrument used to draw lines, not men on thrones.

Age Meter.

2008-07-18T16:56:00.003+04:00

"The food looks beautiful"

2008-07-16T15:28:00.004+04:00

When you sometimes try to be nice and want your Thank Yous to be creative.
And when you end up telling the cook: "The food looked beautiful,"
instead of the simple - "The food was great."

And when you get the question:
"What do you mean: it looked beautiful?"
Then find an awkward smile forming on the cook's face:
"What about the taste?"

That is when you know you made a biiig mistake in choosing your words.

(Didn't happen to me :P)

صلوا على خير الأنام

2008-07-13T17:01:00.004+04:00

صلوا على خير الأنام

by: AbdulRahman Mohammed

Beautiful song above, about the Prophet peace be upon him.

I want to go back to drawing. A few things in my head that I want to get out.

The lyrics of the song:

وأحسن منك لم تر قط عينٌ
وأجمل منك لم تلد النساءُ
خلقت مبرءاً من كل عيبٍ

كأنك قد خلقت كما تشاءُ

- حسّان بن ثابت

صلوا على خير الأنام
المصطفى بدر التمام
صلوا عليه وسلموا
يشفع لنا يوم الزحام

يا نفس طيبي باللقاء
يا عين قرّي أعينا
هذا جمال المصطفى
أنواره لاحت لنا

بشرى لنا أن المنى
زال العناء وفننا
والدهر أنجز وعده
والبشر أضحى معلنا

صلي عليه دائما
في كل حينٍ ربنا
وآله وصحبهِ
أهل المعالي والوفا

صلوا على خير الأنام
المصطفى بدر التمام
صلوا عليه وسلموا
يشفع لنا يوم الزحام

To Ami

2008-07-10T15:24:00.004+04:00

Just remembered you,

hope you're doing well.

If you ever get to read this,

you've been missed!

UmK

Something to share (Gabriel by Ahmed Hamdey)

2008-07-10T12:07:00.004+04:00

واحنا لا طولنا السما، ولا طولنا حتى الأرض

After weeks of hearing a part of it in an ad, I finally heard the whole song.
The song talks about the state of the 'Ummah' today and how although it is in a bad state and far from religion, it still asks for God's mercy, and asks for the Prophet (Peace be upon him)'s Shafaa'a.

-To Download the Song.

Lyrics:

جبريل ملاك م السما، نزل في يوم الأرض
علشان يكلم نبي ويحمله رسالة
من رب خلق السما، خلق كمان الأرض
بعت عشانا النبي، ومحمله رسالة

واحنا لا طولنا السما،
ولا طولنا حتى الأرض،
ولا شفنا يوم النبي،
ولا خدنا برسالة
عايزين رضى من السما، طامعين فـ خير م الأرض
طالبين شفاعة نبي، أحلامنا دي محالة

يا أمة لو تتعبي، يبقى السبب فينا
عارفين دواكي النبي، ونسينا نفسينا
الاسم قال أمته والفعل ناس تانيه
سايبين طريق سنته، ماشيين طرق تانيه

حق النبي نضيعه، واحنا اللي آه ضعنا
حتى الأدان نسمعه وكأن ما سمعنا
قدمنا إيه للنبي لأجل أنه يشفع لنا
صلينا آه ع النبي لأ .. مصلناش كلنا.

The Shiny Pink Nailpolish

2008-07-04T21:03:00.004+04:00

My 5 year old cousin approached me, asking me to help her open the bottle of Shiny Pink nail polish. I tried, but couldn't, which made her laugh. I kept on trying and failing, and she kept on laughing each time I failed!

Suddenly, a hand comes in and snatches it from me: "What do you have teeth for, use 'em!" She takes the bottle, puts the cap between her teeth, turns the bottle around and voila! "See, that's how I opened the ketchup bottle!"

My 5 year old cousin and I look at each other and giggle, how come we didn't we think of that!

My little cousin happily takes the nail polish, then looks at me and says: "Give me your hand."

- "My hand?"
- "Yes! For nailpolish."

I don't like nail polish. The last time I applied nailpolish was three years back, and I hated it.

But I gave her my hand.

When she finished and went. I looked at my hand and laughed.

My sister asked:
- "Did she do it well?"

- "Better see for yourself."

She looked at it then said: "Well, it's the thought that counts!"

Aalo Aalo Kaneih Banoor Kasaane

2008-07-04T13:03:00.003+04:00

Aalo Aalo Kaneih Saloonk Kasaane
"Sing, the bride is young."
Aalo Aalo Kaneih Banoor Kasaane
"Sing, the groom is young."

... That was the only thing I caught from the song my cousin's grandmother sung while my cousin was being brought downstairs for the Henna. So old, yet she sung it in such a beautiful voice. She sings a part, then we are supposed to repeat when she stops "Sing, the bride is young," then she says another part about the groom and we repeat "Sing, the groom is young."

This is the first time I hear about this, and was surprised to know that everyone around me actually knew what to say. I said to my mother: Everyone knows it! She replied: Yes, it's what is supposed to be sung during the Henna.

- Then why don't they sing it? Why haven't I heard it before?
- Because most people now look down on tradition, slowly everything is losing its value.
- But it's beautiful.
- It's beautiful.

The pain begged me...

2008-07-02T17:34:00.004+04:00

... It said: Please, UmK, I've had enough! Stop banging into the living room table and look where you're going!

The thing is, I dont' realize I hit anything until an hour later when I've finished my work.
I sit down to relax, and my body takes it as a chance to scream.

Family.

2008-07-02T07:18:00.002+04:00

Hugging her little daughter, trying to calm her down and stop her tears, she said:

“Family never laughs at you, family laughs with you! Never think otherwise.”

Al Resalah TV Videos

2008-06-30T19:12:00.003+04:00

I just found out that all the major programs' episodes have been added to a website, now if we missed any of our favourite programs we could check them online!

Here's the website: http://www.alresalah.ws It requires registration.

The quality is really good if you're on ADSL. When you open a video click on the (ADSL) button on the right. But, unfortunately, they can't be viewed on Full Screen just yet.

Anyway, Enjoy!

I am who I am because ... ?

2008-06-27T17:04:00.002+04:00

Example One: A young man was a poet. He was a talented one, never needed to try hard. This young man never knew his great grandfather was a poet. When he did, he knew he ‘inherited it’ from him. Now, to him, everything makes sense. He is a poet because his great grandfather was one.

Example Two: Another man was a musician. Not very talented, but he was quite good at his profession. One day he found out he was a descendant of scientists. To him, it made sense too. Music did not flow from him because; it wasn’t what he should really be doing. He shouldn’t be a musician; he should be, as his family before him - a scientist.

Those were two examples that generated a long discussion between my father and I.
He believes a person does not be who he is because of his ancestors. But the surroundings (society, culture, religion, even the special opportunities) are what shape the person.

His approach is more logical than mine (As normal). The problem with me is that I’d like to believe that everything has a hidden reason for it to happen, something we might never know until we’re close to death, if ever.

My father agrees: there is nothing that happens by coincidence, but a person should not surrender to the thought that he has no power over who he is. That who he is is determined by what a person who lived 90 years ago decided to be.

UmK, Weirdgoat and Ti3gib ... Nearly 11 years ago.

2008-06-25T22:02:00.005+04:00

A friend of mine has our grade-2 year book, so I took it from her and photographed these:

Picture (1):
A drawing of me and my mother in the zoo. I wrote in Arabic: I went to Al-Buraimi early in morning and we went to the zoo. I told my mother: Look over here! And she said: That's beautiful. Then I said: That's beautiful. And we had a great time. :P

Picture (2):
Weirdgoat wrote in Arabic in the 'what did you learn this year' section: I learnt how to deal with people with honesty and integrity and not hurt them.

Picture (3):
Of course no need to translate as Ti3gib wrote in English (thaqaafa englezeya), but just wanted to point out that he did NOT draw the elephant, he drew the sunset. How artistic.

(1)

(2)

(3)

This August ...

2008-06-20T14:49:00.001+04:00

Bu Bader

... he'll be leaving to a country where it'll be night when here it's day. It would be the first time he'll be away from us for so long. I'm not sure if it'll make a difference. We can instant message, e-mail, he's on facebook so I could stalk him.

But still. I think it's going to be different.

The only thing I'm hoping is that he doesn't come back a year later with an Afro hair style and chewing gum. I'll shoot him.

كل بني آدم خطاء ولكن ...

2008-06-15T15:12:00.001+04:00

ليس الذي يذنب ويضحك كالذي يذنب ويبكي

د. عمر عبدالكافي

Fights No-one Wins

2008-06-03T23:00:00.000+04:00

Brought me to tears :

Brothers in Passing - Kareem Salama

He was a soldier who’d only been married two or three years ago
And he put his hands on her knees that night and he said I gotta go
She said why would you leave this home and me; I thought I was your baby girl
And he wiped away the tears from her eyes and said they’re sending me to save the world
And you know I love you and I pray to God that he’ll join us once again
But now its time for this simple man to be one of the few good men

Cause baby I’m a soldier and I hear those trumpets calling again
And our kings and queens are saying this is a fight we must win
For truth and justice and for the way we live our life
And baby I’m a soldier in front of God I swore I would fight

Across the ocean and miles away there stood another man
Eighteen years, hugging his mama saying I’ll defend this land
Mama held her baby and cried and clutched him telling him not to leave
She said what will I do without my baby boy; son I’m begging you please
He said I love you mama but duty calls; I’ll write you everyday
She said I lost your daddy like this and I don’t wanna lose you this way

But Mama I’m a soldier and I hear those trumpets calling again
And our kings and queens are saying this is a fight we must win
For truth and justice and for the way we live our life
And Mama I’m a soldier in front of God I swore I would fight

Well the battle raged and shots rang out the two men fell to the ground
And they looked into the eyes of each other and were shocked at what they found

One man saw the mother of the other in that young mans eyes
And the other man saw the crying and screams of the other mans beloved wife
And the two men stared across that smoky field and whispered to each other
Maybe you weren’t the demon they said maybe you were really my brother
But I’m glad we’re passing cause I don’t think that I could forgive myself
For fighting you but maybe God will and we can live together in bliss

Cause Ladies we were soldiers and we heard those trumpets calling again
And tell the kings and queens that sometimes there are fights no one wins
But we know for sure that there’s evil out there we must fight
But please be sure that this is one of those times
And please be sure to remember my mama and wife
And please be sure to think of my brother on the other side.

Dates!

2008-05-29T12:56:00.005+04:00

This is the first year we get dates, Al Hamdulillah. Took some pictures today:

(Can't seem to rotate it!)

Jebel Akdhar (Water brand)

2008-05-29T12:33:00.005+04:00

Who on earth would sell anything BUT Light Water?!

Who would want to drink Heavy Water?! (Excluding Amjad who I think might like to try it).

Yahya Nader = Long Live Nader!

2008-05-27T18:30:00.005+04:00

Nader’s Wife: Insha’Allah, I will name my first son Yahya.

Leila: Hehe, Yahya?

Nader’s Wife, with a twinkle in her eye: Yes! So his name will be Yahya Nader. And then when they say his name, it would be like they are saying Long Live Nader!

-------------
Yahya means: He Lives.

But when added before a name, it would mean: Long live (name)!

The 'Holy' Anthem.

2008-05-26T14:46:00.005+04:00

Memory of a 10th Grader:

I was standing in line during the anthem, like every morning I stood for the past 10 years of school. A teacher came and pulled me out of line, which made all the girls stare, I know they all asked themselves: What (Mu9eeba: Enormous trouble) did she do?

The thing is, I didn't do, or say anything. And that is what upset them.

Minutes later, while I was standing alone infront of the 600 students, another girl was pulled out of line. This girl, though, was pulled out because she did say something, she was speaking to the girl next to her in line. That, also, made them very upset. But both of us shared the same guilt: We did not sing along the National Anthem.

-----

We were caught in the act, we showed the 600 students + 40 teachers how unpatriotic we were. I wonder, when was patriotism something determined by whether we sing the national anthem or not? What will they say if I told them that most if not all the students did not sing in the morning, but only moved their lips, just to prevent being pulled out of line like my classmate and I were pulled out today?

Two angry teachers came to us, we listened to their words, but couldn't look into their eyes that were filled with anger and dissapointment. They were ashamed of us, why didn't we sing? Why didn't we show our love for the Country? Do you not know how to show respect? ... And many words that would only come out of people who, presumebly, hold on tightly to their values.

-----

I stood there, punished. I knew I will stand half an hour more, as the morning assembly, which was always after the Anthem, had Quran recited, a Hadith shared and other programs our teachers would prepare a week before.

The anthem finished, and it was time for the Quran to be recited.

بـــــســــــم الله الـــــرحــــمـــــــــن الرحـــــيـــــــــم
In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

Suddenly, the voices of the students were louder. I heard laughter, jokes, conversations ... and the sound of the Quran's recitation in the background.

I looked for the teachers who pulled me out of line so I could tell them: Pull them out of line too! They are the ones not showing respect! - I expected to see the teachers pulling out other girls from the lines, let them stand as a punishment for showing lack of respect towards the Quran, our Holy Book, the words of God. But I find them, among other teachers, chatting and laughing.

The Anthem was holier to them than the Quran.

-----

The Teachers: And when the Anthem is sung, then sing with it, that mercy may be shown to you!

Allah SWT: "And when the Quran is recited, then listen to it and remain silent, that mercy may be shown to you." [7:204]

Inheriting more than only physical traits

2008-05-26T10:26:00.010+04:00

A girl asked: "Mama, what type of Muslim am I?"
The mother: "You are a Sunni."
She asked further: "What type of Sunni am I?"
Her mother replied proudly: "You are a Hanafite; all our family are Hanafites."

This is a real conversation. To me, it was a live example of 'Inheriting Religion'. Hearing this conversation made it easier for me to understand how people ask others to determine who they are, then accepting whatever categorie they are put in, believing in it deeply, living as followers.

But just when the mother thought the conversation was over, and that her child finally understood where she was standing, she was shocked to hear these words come out of her daughter's mouth: "Ok, but I'm Shafi'i."

The mother could not say anything, but she was surprised at her daughter's response. She tried convincing her and said: "Why Shafi'i? We're all the same after all!"

The girl replied: "If we're all the same, then why care if I went by this or that?"

The mother could not reply, and I was happy.

There are signs that show how the person will turn out to be in the future, and I take this as a good sign. Insha'Allah, she will get to choose for herself, ask to understand, than just follow.

And that is my consolation.

-----------------------------------------

This story is not to say that this sect is better than the other or anything. I am just sharing the conversation as it was, hoping that the idea behind it is what is thought about not the conversation itself.

Cultural Dialogue

2008-05-25T20:26:00.003+04:00

In case you didn't notice: An Arab, and a Non Arab.

I am amazed by the number of websites and organizations dedicated to Cultural Dialogue with the Arab/Islamic world, finding a Common Ground.

Is this strictly Politics? Or why exactly are organizations dedicating their money for internships for ‘Muslims’ of any country that would last for three months? Or why is Goethe Institute publishing a magazine called Fikrun-Wa-Fan (Arabic for: Thoughts and Art) and giving out free subscriptions? And why is Qantara.de specialized in ‘Dialogue with the Muslim World’?

I would love to know... why?

To understand us? If so, shouldn’t we be the ones making the move?

Examples of Websites, which I'm finding very interesting and benefiting a lot from, that are specialized in Cultural Dialogue:

Common Ground - Goethe: Fikrun Wa Fan - Qantara - Oxford Islamic Studies Online

Dima.

2008-05-25T15:35:00.003+04:00

What I posted two years ago: RIP Dima ...

It's the 25th of May 2008. Two years and three weeks since Dima died. I find it weird that I remembered her now, in May, the month she passed away. But maybe God wants me to pray for her, and then remember how badly I need some prayers too.

There are many things I wish I thought of keeping. One thing I'm regretting is not keeping the old MSN logs of my conversations with Dima, just to remind myself what a beautiful person she was.

She was going to come to Oman in Summer the year she died. That's what we all thought. But something else was planned for her. I believe what my grandmother says: If you're good, God will take your soul earlier than the rest, because he wants you to return to him before the others, and to save you from this wretched world.

May God have mercy on your soul, Dims.
In Heaven, Insha'Allah.

Announcement

2008-05-23T22:00:00.004+04:00

I have a new blog, an Arabic one. I'm trying to improve my Arabic writing through it because I totally mess up while writing Ta3beer (Arabic essays).

If there are any mistakes in the words, or grammar, please don't hesitate to let let me know, I even have the anonymous mode on if you don't want me to know who you are.

Here's the blog: أشـــباه مقــــامــــات

I went through my blog and found that these people have commented, and I just want to thank them for giving me face. Min tawaa'93kom: Jeff, Eman, Amjad, Ti3gib, Foof, Abu UmKhalid, nezitiC, Lost Soul, Red Dragon, Balqis, Miss Fikra, Shahrazad, Nella, Obli, Charm, Mr. Sampal Chaudrey (Namaste), Adam, Weird Fitness Bot (laa7egny ella yabeeni a'93af! = like it wants me to lose weight!) - I hope I didn't forget anyone :S

And of course those who have participated in the Free Chat Widget campaign.

Thanks,
UmK

I like strawberry milkshake and strawberry milkshake likes me.

2008-05-13T20:46:00.005+04:00

The tray just fell open! Like it wanted me to eat!

When you start dieting, all the delicious snacks you've never got to have before

the diet innocently appear in your normally-boring (because junk food is not
allowed in the house)fridge. Your mother decides it's a great time to try out
some new recipes she found. And people get married (So all the
delicious traditional dishes are available).

I think they are back again.

Abu Nawwas.

2008-05-06T10:02:00.003+04:00

رآه بعض أصحابه في المنام، وقال لهم
‏
"غفر الله لي بأبيات قلتها، وهي تحت وسادتي"

فجاؤوا فوجدوها برقعة في خطه

‏‏
يــــا رب إن عظمت ذنوبــي كـــثرةً
فلــقـد علمت بأن عفـــوك أعظـــمُ
إن كـــان لا يـرجـــوك إلا محســــنٌ
فبمـن يلـــوذ ويستجـــــير المجــــرمُ
أدعوك ربـــي كما أمـــــرت تضرعاً
فـإذا رددت يــــدي فمــن ذا يرحـــــمُ
مـالــــي إليــــك وسيلــــــة إلا الرجا
وجمـــــيل عفــــوك
ثــــم أني مســلمُ

Alice In Wonderland Inspiration

2008-05-06T08:07:00.004+04:00

Which way to go?

Alice: I just wanted to ask you which way I ought to go.
Cheshire Cat: Well, that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Well it really doesn't matter as long as I -
Cheshire Cat: *interrupts* Then ... it doesn't really matter which way you go.

"When you don't have a specific place you want to get to in life, it wouldn't matter which way you go, because all of them lead to nowhere. And nowhere won't bother you, because you never chose to be 'somewhere'." - Dr. Moataz Yahya Sunbul.

I saw a roach in my bathroom, twitching

2008-04-25T11:09:00.003+04:00

I never took photos of roaches, so here are frog eggs.

I despise roaches. Maybe it’s because I know what they’ve been dipping their bodies in all day before appearing in the toilet? Maybe it’s because they have a shiny back and long antennas? Or maybe it’s just something girlish that most have no control on.

I prefer to throw them out of the window from the second floor (where my room is). Don’t worry, they live. But sometimes I am forced to use pesticide. Especially when these retched creatures decide to act all cool and use their wings. Not. Funny. At. All!

So yeah, I kill ‘em. I don’t squish them because that’s just nasty, people just shouldn’t do that. I tried that once and some stuff came out of it, absolutely revolting. So, I use my good friend Mr. Pesticide. They twitch for sometime so I keep on spraying them until their souls depart their bodies.

I hope I’m not doing something bad, but I really can’t sleep if I have a roach crawling around. I start visualizing myself asleep and a roach crawling over my face, laying eggs. Then I’d start asking myself why on earth a roach would choose a human’s face to lay its eggs on? Then I’d realize I was only daydreaming and the roach is still in the bathroom! I get quite paranoid about it all.

Anyway, about the roach I found recently. It was already on its way to animal dust land, so I felt that I had to end the little things pain. I sprayed it with pesticide until it flipped on its back, dead.

I looked around and noticed the other tiny creatures in my bathroom; apparently they were coming from a little crack between the tiles. They were waiting for something, and I knew what it was.

I smiled and let out a known whisper: “Dinner is served.”

Next morning I woke up to find that there was no dead roach around anymore. The ants have chosen it to be part of their April/May food supply. I was happy with that, good for them, I thought. But one thing that bothered me was that there was no thank you note.

Those ungrateful ants, you didn’t even WORK for that roach, I killed something that would last you a month and I didn’t even get a ‘Good job, UmK’ from you guys! Just … just DON’T talk to me anymore! I’ll never kill a roach for you guys AGAIN! – And don’t even think of taking ANYTHING from my toothpaste.

Project Finale: One Origin

2008-04-22T10:28:00.002+04:00

After some editing Azzie and I's C-Design project is finally complete. This semester it was supposed to be a film that involved stop-motion.

Hope you enjoy the film:

Update: Alright so the video has been taken off by YouTube -_- ... Fortunately they accepted a shorter version of it, but I think it's because it doesn't present the whole song, copyright issues. Here's the shorter version: One Origin

تأبى رفيقتي أن تتزوج عربي

2008-04-17T12:27:00.002+04:00

Taken in Salalah

"اقوللج من الحين يام خالد، مستحيل اتزوج عربي"

"وليش عاد؟؟"

"انا مابي زوج متكبر، ابي واحد اذا غلط يعترف بغلطه ويعتذر، ولحين مثل هذا بين العرب ما شفت"

"آخ يام آدم ... حطيتي ايدج عالجرح"

The torch, children and flags.

2008-04-15T12:34:00.006+04:00

Sorry, should it be The Torch, with a capital T?

I didn't know about this till this morning, when my friend Azzy told me she was in Mutrah yesterday with children everywhere holding flags. She didn't know until she saw the torch that Oman was chosen to pass by with the Olympic torch. Interesting.

Why? Because no one protests here, or ... because we can't protest here. It's a nice, safe country.

Azzy: "Then why on earth have such heavy security for ... a torch?"

"Under the protection of Tanzanian riot police, the Olympic torch is carried in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, Sunday April 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)"

"The Olympic torch arrived Monday in Oman amid tight security..." - Source

Makes me wish I was a torch.

***

Seeing the children in the street with flags reminds me of a memory my mother shared.
When she was little, whenever a political figure came to Oman, they would take the children out of their classes and line them up on both sides of the roads to greet them.

The children didn't really know why they were standing with flags in their hands greeting these people, but they did because they were afraid of the punishment, and because they were skipping boring Maths for this - woohoo!

Others, like my mother, didn't care about the punishment and so saw it as a great opprotunity to go back home early. They ran away when the teachers were busy giving out the flags.

17 years later ...

2008-04-11T16:03:00.005+04:00

I was going through our old things with Mother, as we had nothing else to do, when I found something that caught my attention.

I lifted it from the drawer, unfolded it and read the word: Allah. My mother looked at what was between my hands and said: "That's yours. Mother (Her grandmother) made it for you when you were only one, I forgot about it!"

Al Hamdulillah, I was blessed to know my great-grandmother as she lived until I was 15. She was very old when she passed away: late 80's/early 90's. Her daughter (My mother's mother) passed away when my mother was 10. But because my grandmother left many children behind, my great grandmother forced herself to get over it and concentrate on raising them. I never heard my mother, aunts or uncles call her Grandmother, they always called her Mother. Which made her seem closer to them.

When her son passed away, she was too old to bear with it. That is where her health went down-hill. A year later, she passed away. Many people attended her funeral, and that is where I found out she raised many orphans, people came to her if they wanted treatment for injuries (I remember once I hurt my ankle real bad and she put some home-made oils and rubbed my ankle with it then tied it. The pain vanished!) and when in her times women gave birth at home, she was the one who helped them give birth!

We have many beautiful ornaments she made hanging around the house that remind us of her. But to me, this one is the closest to my heart. I told my mother it was nice to see that my great grandmother knew how to write Allah even though she was illiterate, she said it was no surprise, "everyone knows Allah's name."

The birds were talking about me

2008-04-11T15:19:00.004+04:00

From an interview: The bottles agree.
( You gotta love my mic. It was a gift :) )

I can't explain but I'm sure they were talking about me. I mean, why on earth twitter like crazy once I step out to the garden? I don't understand bird language but that doesn't mean I can't interpret what each chirp and twitter indicates.I'm not stupid you know. At least wait till I get in THEN continue the conversation. I mean, why make me feel left out! And learn Arabic for God's sake! You were born here!

Some might say they were talking about the latest bird houses or type of seeds that were out or where they'll be going when Summer comes - but I don't think so. They can talk about those things at night when they're at home, but at our house they should show respect. They were definitely making fun of my slippers. I should catch them all and roast them for dinner.

And for those birds who read my blog ... I HATE YOU!

Update: I think I now understand why birds and I don't get along.
It all started when I was 4 years old. My parents took me to a farm and on the enterance there was a cage with two Love Birds. They were acting very silly and I just had to tell them off. I screamed them to "STOP KISSING!" and shook their cage, a bit. Suddenly, both birds looked at me and starting chirping so noisily, they looked a bit angry too.

Ha! And they call them Love Birds. So much for 'Love', all they showed me were their issues with temper.

From The House - To The World

2008-04-08T19:56:00.017+04:00

Three generations: Grandfather - Father - Son

It's the surroundings that shape a person, and in this part of the world, a high percentage of your surroundings involve the family. That is why a single family member can be the reason to build up the family's reputation, or destroy it.

So next time you decide to do something, wrong or right, remember: The eyes will be looking at you, but their minds will be thinking of your family.

Quoting my great grandmother may God have mercy on her soul: "My girls, when you walk outside, walk steadily. Our neighbour watches you from her window."

In need of 'Marry Poppins' inspiration

2008-04-02T23:58:00.001+04:00

My mother told me I had to tidy my room. I went on YouTube and searched for 'A Spoon Full of Suger', just to remind myself how I wished a single snap would make the clothes tidy themselves into the closet and the books would fly like birds to rest on the shelves.

Oh well. We're all on Manual for now.

Cycling Swiss

2008-03-29T21:40:00.006+04:00

Red: Planned Route
Blue: Actual Route

We entered the class today to find out there wasn’t going to be a lecture, as two ‘surprise guests’ were over and our professor couldn’t let them go without letting them tell us about themselves.

We met Mr and Mrs Joerger. Both from Switzerland, both passionate about cycling (Both! Lovely isn't it) and if I may add: both very friendly. For many years they planned to cycle from Switzerland to China. Now they are in Oman, after a year of cycling.

They were in Salalah, southern Oman, when a car came and hit them! They were injured, the man who hit them felt guilty and offered to give them a ride all the way to Muscat.

If this had not happend, they would've continued to Dubai. But because of the injuries they decided to stay in Muscat for a while to recover. And that's when my professor met them in Muttrah. He said he just had to chat with them. When he asked them to come to tell us about their journey they were delighted to!

"Lovely coincidence!" He said.

Their website: Pius and Margrit Joerger
Enjoy!

Seems like someone's been cooking

2008-03-29T21:11:00.003+04:00

Only now does she appreciate the oven gloves.

ما عادت الحارة حارتنا (بنظرنا) ولا بتعود ذيك الأيام

2008-03-27T21:19:00.004+04:00

يلومني أن بعت بالرخص منزلي

ولم يعلموا جاراً هناك ينغص

فقلت لهم كفوا الملام فإنمــــــــا

بجيرانها تغلوا الديار وترخص

Sunset Scent

2008-03-27T12:24:00.007+04:00

I love the smell of Narjis before Sunset.

It's hard to understand things when you focus on the outside

2008-03-26T18:17:00.008+04:00

We had some students over at our university, since it was their first time in Oman we were supposed to take them out on a city tour. We (Me and three others) planned it and chose to take them to the Masjid Al Akbar first since it’s one of the favorite tourist destinations (according to travel sites). It’s beautiful, of course, but it’s not the masjid I would choose to pray in during Ramadhan, not the masjid I would choose to attend the Kuhtba in on Fridays. It’s just beautiful from an architectural point of view.

Anyway, before entering into the subject, I want to **explain that the womens' prayer room is relatively smaller than the mens'. We don't care, we just need an air-conditioned room to pray in , at the end, we women prefer to pray in the comfort of our homes. The size is enough for us women, since it never gets filled up, while the mens’ huge prayer room is never enough on Fridays and the men who arrive later than the others get to pray outside the prayer room, which is approximately 2000 sqm. Big eh.

While I was leaving the womens' prayer room, an old lady came to me and asked me something in an accent I recognised to be Italian: "Do the women pray here?" I nodded, "Yes. We pray here," thinking that that was the only thing she wanted to know.

She looked at me, gave a little laugh indicating that she wasn't pleased with the answer, shook her head, tightended her lips and had a disgusted expression on. "Why?," I asked her, not sure I was pointing to her question or the expression on her face.

She replied with another question: "Why don't you pray there?," gesturing towards the mens' prayer room. I told her what I explained at the beginning. **

She shook her head again, looking very irritated. I kept looking at her, imagining the thoughts going through her head: "Poor women, not able to protest or say they want to pray in the mens' huge hall with the crystal chandelier, what injustice."

I don't blame her for thinking that way, we've brought them to a Masjid not to show them why the Masjid was built, not to show them the spiritual side of this building, but to show them the superficial things that will never add anything to our faith: The carpet that was hand made in Persia; the Arabic calligraphy of Quranic verses on the ceiling that are too high to read or understand anything from; the gold-plated chandelier made with swarvoski crystals; the hand-carvings on the walls.

I didn't know what to say to her, I couldn't blame her for thinking that way, we haven't showed tourists the reason this building, the mosque, is even there. I couldn't think of what to tell her, so I smiled back to the expression on her face which was still tight and disgusted. When she saw me smile, her face softened. She came closer, lowered her voice and said in her Italian accent: "You young people, this generation, you start it, you make the change," nodded at the mens' prayer room and left.

I'm taking that advice, maybe not with the same intention behind her advice, but I'm taking it. We do not want superficial changes though, we want changes to occur from within us.

Fine, then, you'll go with your PJs.

2008-03-06T18:29:00.005+04:00

Lovely to live your life in PJs

I was reminded that mother didn't agree to that statement when I watched a physchologist saying: "If your child didn't want to change, then tough, he'll be going to school in his pajamas!"

That sounded freakingly familiar. Where had I heard that before? I turn to my mother and saw her laughing, "remember when I did that to you, UmKhalid?!"

My mouth fell open, "You took me to school in my pajamas?!"

"Nearly did! You were six then. I told you to wake up so I could prepare you for school. You woke up, but refused to change. I said: fine then, you're going to school in your pajamas. Let's then see what your friends have to say."

"You came along and got in the car, still in your pajamas. I didn't say anything and was actually keen on taking you to school in your PJs. Right when I started the engine, you gave in: Mama! No, okay, I'll change my clothes."

Bleh, I never had the gutts. There was a boy in my class who came to school wearing a superman costume, he never felt awkward, why couldn't I accept to go to school in Pajamas! Just for once!

Here's myself in my school uniform:
Unfortunately I don't have the cute hat on in this picture, but you can notice me holding something, that's the hat. We had so many outfits, this one here is the Autumn outfit. When we get to school we take it off and then we're wearing the blue t-shirt underneath with trousers:

"We determine the others' reactions" - Alarabi Al Kashat

2008-03-05T14:38:00.010+04:00

Watch your ~~steps~~ words

“Your religion is stupid!”
“Your religion is stupider!"

Conversations that start with the intention of insulting the other's religion means the most sacred things either hold will be subject to abuse. Sometimes we, by our ignorance, are the ones who give others a chance to offend us.

"Revile not those unto whom they pray beside Allah
lest they wrongfully revile Allah through ignorance." [6:108]

If a person does not believe in our religion, how do we expect them to show respect if we insulted their belief? And if they started it, we shouldn't reply the same way, we shouldn't respond wrongfully even if they were wrong, "lest they wrongfully revile Allah through ignorance" all over again.

This shouldn't only be in religion. In all aspects of life, we determine how the other responds. If we're good to others, they'll be good to us. (Unless of course they have some 'problems', but we're talking about most people here)

I'll leave you with this hadeeth, it explains how it normally works:

The prophet peace and blessings upon him said: "From the
major sins is a man reviling his parents."
We said, "O Messenger of Allah! And does a man revile his parents?!"
He said: "Yes. He insults the the person's father who, in return, insults the former's; he then insults the person's mother who, in return, insults his mother."

أحلى علم بعيني

2008-03-04T15:42:00.002+04:00

بو عبدالرحمن، ابي اصور العلم

صوريه انزين

لاا استحي، روح اسأل الرجال عادي نصور ولا

اسأله؟

اي اسأله، بعدين فـَــي بتصورك ويا كيمرتها

انزين انتظري

*الرجال يأشر/ايوا ايوا تفضل*

... الرجال يقول عادي

قماش أخضر (لوني المفضل) وعليه الشهادة: لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله

Tagged.

2008-03-04T12:50:00.004+04:00

I don't remember if I've ever been tagged before, so no Amjad, I won't ignore this. Thanks for the tag!

1. What were you doing at 7am this morning?
Sound asleep. Making up for the extra hours I've been up for exams.

2. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Blogging

3. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?
Don't know

4. What is the last thing you said aloud?
"Ee 9a7, 5aaltey etta9lat wenty t9alleen" "Oh yeah, My aunt called while you were praying"

5. What is the best ice cream flavor?
Praline with caramel, hearty heart.

6. What was the last thing you had to drink?
شربة عسل - Warm water + Honey (Mother said it's good for my flu.)

7. What are you wearing right now?
I found that my father's t-shirt was put in my cupboard by mistake, so I thought, why not. It's very comfortable.

8. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
I don't think so, no.

9. What’s the last sporting event you watched?
I think only first minutes of the match between Oman and Bahrain, just to make my cousin happy. She didn't ask me about it later since we lost.

10. Do you have a tan?
Noo, I'm brown enough.

11. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
Only if I found coloured straws.

12. Are you someones best friend?
Haha, I really don't know, I hope I am.

13. Last person you talked to on the phone?
An aunt, my mother was praying so I chatted a bit.

14. Have you met anyone famous?
Yes! The sweet Duraid Lahhaam! And nearly every Kuwaiti actor who has been in Oman, I was dragged by my cousin who wanted to take their autographs. The meetings I enjoyed were with Dawud Hussain and Tariq Al Ali, I was glad to know that they're not as 'wacky' in nature, but normal people who can start a good conversation.

15. Last song you listened to?
Ya Lail 'O Night' - Humood Al Khedher (Beautiful song, the singer talks to the 'Night')

16. Are you jealous of anyone?
May God keep us away from such heart deseases.

17. Is anyone jealous of you?
No one in their right mind.

18. Do you eat healthy?
No ... *hides face*

19. Do you hate anyone right now?
No, al hamdulillah!

I tag Fay, because she hasn't updated her blog in a very long time.
And Astal, because I just want to. :P

When lost, stay lost.

2008-03-04T12:28:00.004+04:00

In all the times I've been lost (the times I remember: twice in the festival, once in the early days of city centre, and recently in Umrah), I've always been told off. I don't understand that, why should I be told off for being lost? I mean, I was just as afraid as you are, dear parents!

Here's the scenario:

*Parents worried looking in all directions calling their lost child's name*
*Child finally spots them and hurries their way*
*Once they see the child their faces straighten*

Mother: Where on earth have you been!

Father: You're grounded young lady/man.

I've asked others, it's the same thing with them too.

Why is real life nothing like movies? Why doesn't a) music start playing in the background, b)everything go in slow motion until we hug, then c)parents say: "Oh my, we thought we were never going to find you" ... ?

It's the inside that counts.

2008-03-01T21:35:00.008+04:00

Empty land? The rig, digging deep down, doesn't agree.

Again, I have been proven wrong. I love it when that happens. But only if my ideas were negative compared to the positive truth. It hurts to know an idea I have of someone might be 'too positive', I would rather live that way than know the harsh truth.

Anyway, I'm glad to know there's a person out there who turned out to be much better than I thought they were.

Her eyes smiled, that was enough for me.

2008-03-01T19:58:00.007+04:00

Cover the lower part of his face with your hand, do you still see the smile ?

My sister and I stood in the Masjid Al Nabawi, not knowing what to do. We were waiting for my mother who was asking a lady (guide) where the rawdha was when suddenly my mother turns to me looking like she just remembered something. She said: "Wait a minute, you speak English! Come, talk to the lady!"

I looked at the direction my mother was pointing and found a lady in niqab looking at directly at me. I approached her and she said in a warm motherly tone: "Salam Aleikom, dear. Yes, how can I help you?"

"Aleikom Al Salam! Well, you see, this is the first time we come to Medina and ... "

"Oh! Masha'Allah my dear, may God bring you again and again!"

She put a hand on my shoulder and explained everything to me.

When I asked her about the Rawdha, she didn't answer immediatly. I guess she wanted to enjoy this.
"Oh, the Rawdha! It is between the Minbar and his house, peace be upon him. He received revelations from Gabriel right in the Rawdha. You pray two Raka'as here then send your greetings to Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him, then Abu Bakr may God be pleased with him, then Omar may God be pleased with him."

I was grateful for this, I always heard people saying it was hard for them to pray in the Rawdha, with us, it was not only easy, but God sent me a lady to tell me everything I wanted and more!

She looked at me, finally, with the biggest, warmest smile on her face and said: "You want to know where the Rawdha is?" I nodded, she continued: "It is where the carpet is green."

I looked down at my feet. The carpet I stood on, was green. She knew it, but I had to reassure myself by saying it out loud: "I'm in the Rawdha!"

I thanked her and walked away, thinking of the warm smile she had on her face. After I answered my mother's question "What did she say?!", I realized that I never did see her face. I didn't see her mouth curved in a smile. All I saw were her eyes. Her eyes smiled, and that was enough for me.

Opinion on Niqab: I do not believe in Niqab or any face covering as a religious requiremen, but I do not judge them for choosing to wear it, if they were forced though, then that's horrible, no one should be forced.

Makka: Al Masjid Al Haram (2)

2008-02-28T15:56:00.007+04:00

Thaz Mee!
Very close to the Ka'aba in this picture. You can notice 'Maqaam Ibrahim on my right- your left-. And on the right handside of the door you can see people gathered up to get to Al Hajar Al Aswad!

I'll describe The Haram in the different times of the Day, so here it is, My Attempt Of Describing The Haram:

Masha'Allah, despite the big numbers of people entering the Masjid every hour, it remains clean. The white marbles are always squeeky clean because they're washed/wiped/polished many times throughout the day. I had socks on, and they never got dirty, they looked like I just wore them minutes ago! The marbles are so smooth, I was going to slip and fall a couple of times, so I tried walking near my brothers or father so I could get a hold of them and make them fall with me. Children found it real fun though, "Look mom I'm skating!"

Dawn - Morning:

On the first day we were there from 3 AM until the sun was out, al hamdulillah. The best time for Tawaf is that time, since it's not too crowded and you can get to do the Sunnah of touching Al Rukn Al Yamaani, and just wait a little to get to Al Hajar Al Aswad. The air is cool and fresh at that time because it's close to dawn, and the marbles' coolness made it feel even more refreshing. Something I loved: When it's close to the Dawn prayer, you start smelling the beautiful Arabian Perfumes! They burn frankincense and Arabian Oud, ahhh! Lovely!

Afternoon - Evening:

I cannot describe how beautiful the place is during the afternoon. The sunlight is reflected from the white marbles on the white clothes of the pilgrims, making everything white appear luminous.

Most people come for Umrah between the afternoon and evening. We got to do Tawaf Al Wadaa' at this time and it was much harder than the first Tawaf.

Also, this is the time of the day where the carpets are changed, the marbles are washed, and again, Arabian Oud! Heart, heart, heart! I liked this time a lot because this is when I noticed the birds' nests inside the Masjid. I heard wings, looked up and found pidgeons right above me, really something. (No nothing fell on my head, al hamdulillah!)

Sunset - Night:

When it is close to sunset, the smell of Arabic coffee starts spreading. I was sitting down waiting for my family and the smell of Arabic Coffee was getting stronger every second. Then I noticed that it was coming from people who were going around the Haram giving out cups and pouring Arabic coffee for whoever wanted. I even saw people giving out dates, I then understood that it was for those who are fasting. So anyone fasting, or not, may eat from the things people are sharing from their homes. Other women were going around, giving out lollipops to parents for their children. An aunt told us that we could've done that too if we wanted, just buy anything and go around the Haram giving it out. She said if we were there on a Monday or Thursday, Dates and Laban is a great idea for the ones who are fasting.

So there you are, if you're going to Makka or Medina anytime soon and looking for a way to get extra reward, give out food for your brothers and sisters who are fasting.

I might write about our Umrah, but not anytime soon.

Makka: Al-Masjid Al-Haram

2008-02-25T17:34:00.009+04:00

The trip from Jeddah Airport to Makkah took an hour, I can’t describe my happiness when I saw the Gate of Makkah, with the Qur’an. I asked if the taxi could stop so I could take a picture, but the picture turned out very blurry. So I’ll add a photo I found on the internet:

After passing it, it might have taken us apprx. 10 minutes before we reached the hotel.

We entered the hotel and went to our rooms to get ready to go to the Haram. I sat down, waiting for the others to get ready. When my sister entered the room, she froze, and then pointed at the window behind me. I stood up, wondering what on earth just happend, and WOW. Right outside the window, there was a minaret! A big one! One of the minarets of the Haram! I felt sad because so many buildings were covering the rest. I stood there just admiring how beautiful it was.

Here's a picture my sister took in the morning:

It was nearly 3 AM when my father told us to get ready to go to the Haram. (Yey!) We left the hotel and went walking to the Haram, it only took us two minutes before we reached. THAT close!

We couldn’t see the whole of the Haram at once, but it was better that way, because once we passed the last building, the Haram suddenly appeared in front of us. It was so close and amazingly beautiful Masha’Allah.

My mother wanted to enter from Al Salam (Peace) Gate **, but it was closed, so we entered from King AbdulAziz Gate. And there it was! The Ka’ba! And people doing the Tawaf!

** The reason was because my grandfather entered from Al Salam Gate when he went to Hajj, my mother was little so this memory stuck to her and she wanted to enter the same gate her father entered from. Sweet.

We entered and said the Du’aa, it was so touching to finally see the Ka’ba. If a person stops for a minute and just imagines, they could go back thousands of years ago, when Ibrahim and Ismail peace be upon them were building it together and praying:

And remember Abraham and Isma'il raised the
foundations of the House (With this prayer):
Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: For Thou art
the All-Hearing, the All-knowing."

Our Lord! and make us both submissive to Thee
and (raise) from our offspring a nation
submitting to Thee, and show us our ways of devotion
and turn to us (mercifully),
surely Thou art the Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful.

Our Lord! and raise up in them a Messenger
from among them who shall recite to them
Thy communications and teach them the Book and the wisdom,
and purify them; surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.

[2: 127,128,129]

Then imagine how it was the first time the Prophet peace be upon him and his companions went to Hajj. So many beautiful stories to remember.

To Be Continued ...

Don't forget to click on the photos to view the larger versions.

يا طيبة الخير جينا

2008-02-23T22:03:00.003+04:00

Before writing about Al Madina, I thought of sharing pictures I took when we first arrived.

These photos were taken from the hotel. Click on the photos to view the larger versions.

حقيقة الحلم العربي

2008-02-21T17:42:00.001+04:00

ولا حلم عربي ولا "نيلة" ... ت

يا خسارة الرصيد

2008-02-21T16:01:00.004+04:00

فلانة:(لا إله إلا الله) أمانة برقبتك إلى يوم القيامة. ارسلها لتسع أشخاص وستسمع خبر يسرك وأنا جربت!س

فلانة 2: صج جربتي؟ شصار؟؟ (إذا ممكن) ب

فلانة: الصراحة يعني انا بعدي ما جربت، الرسالة كذا وصلتلي لكن انا الحين رسلته لعشر أشخاص وان شاء الله خير، آسفة إذا ازعجتج!ي

فلانة 2: خير إن شاء الله، انتظري وانا معك من المنتظرين ... لكن احساسي يقول انه محد بيحصل "خير" من ورا هالرسالة إلا عمان موبايل :P ...

They have exceeded, We have exceeded

2008-02-21T15:26:00.006+04:00

wriBefore entering into the main subject, I want to give a brief introduction on a scholar I only heard about recently, but his words have been very inspiring.

Dr. Alarabi Al Kashat, supervisor of Masjid Al Dawa in Paris. He's a highly respected scholar who lives in France. Reading about him, many describe him as 'calm', 'forgiving' and 'understanding'. He has held many confrences to exchange opinions and create understanding between Muslims and Non-Muslims.

Now, what I wanted to share.

Sheikh Mohammed Al Ghazali (may God have mercy on his soul) was in Paris for a conference and Dr. Alarabi went to visit him in the hotel he was in.

Dr. Alarabi says tells his story: "I went to the hotel to meet Sheikh Al Ghazali, we left his room and started walking through the corridoor. I noticed on the wall a picture of a half naked woman. I was embarassed and hoped Sheikh Al Ghazali didn't see it, but he stopped and said: "Did you see?", I felt embarassed and said nothing. Sheikh Al Ghazali said: "Look at it. Did you see how they displayed the woman?" He paused then said: "They have exceeded in stripping her, and we have exceeded in hiding her." Arabic: "بالغوا في تعريتها... وبالغنا في تغطيتها"

Trip To Makka: The City, The Weather, The People

2008-02-19T23:30:00.006+04:00

I tooketh this photo!!

I tried uploading the video I made with all the photos of our Umrah, but it kept saying 'error'. So to watch the video, click-a-here

I won't be talking about the Haram and Ka'ba now. It needs an independant post. :)

The City:
Since before the Prophet peace be upon him was sent, Makka was the most important city in the Arabian Peninsula. That means it dates back to before the Hijra, more than 1500 years.
While walking through the city, I see building and houses that could date back to the 60s, if not earlier. Makka is a moutainous city and there are still houses on the mountains made of stone and clay. They have started to renovate the surrounding areas, but it will surely take a lot of time until it is all changed. Makka is crowded, lands being distributed now are on the mountains! We noticed that on our way to the city, some don't even bother to break the mountain, but simply build over it!

The Weather:
What I heard was that Makka is always warmer than the surrounding cities. It was 20 C when we were there, and that was the same temperature in Oman. People who've been there in Summer say the weather is similar to Oman's, but in the Haram the floors are cooled with underground coolers/A.Cs/some sort of machines that leave the ground cool.

The People:
I don't think I'll be able to live with them. I don't mean they're bad, they're nice, they have that true Arabic spirit, generosity, caring for others and I also love their strong personalities. But what I found hard was approaching them. They have this rough nature, I'm not sure if it's the way they talk, or the words they use, but they're rough. Too rough for us I believe. It's amazing how two countries that are next to each other and share so much (Religion, language, traditions) can hold people who are totally different.

My mother and I were tired and decided to sit down somewhere to rest. Suddenly, we hear a man shouting at us saying "C'mon! C'mon! Get up! They're coming to clean here!" - My mother jumped from her place, pulled my hand saying: "Get up before he hits us!" Of course he wouldn't hit us, but his tone of voice wasn't friendly at all.

Couldn't he have come and said in a nice way: "Sisters, they will be cleaning the place here in a minute..." He doesn't even need to go on, we'll understand and get up. See, he didn't mean to sound rude, it's just the rough nature I was talking about. - But I'm not saying I like it.

We can't blame them though, it might be a good thing for them to be like this seeing that their city suddenly holds 5 million visitors all at once. They might need to be like that to get a hang of it all. And they really are very responsible people Masha'Allah, God bless them.

Physicists ... shakes head

2008-02-18T20:47:00.003+04:00

I found it funny when my Physics professor explained that the Work applied on the box equals Zero, "Even if a person sweat like hell pushing it, it's still zero." And after the lecture I drew this:

The Attack of (actually ON) the Blind Snake

2008-02-09T10:55:00.000+04:00

I AM SO MAD AT MY UNCLE AND HIS FRIEND!

My mother opened the cupboard and took a bowl. She looked at the bowl and thought it was too small, so she opened the cupboard again, put back the small bowl, and took another. She noticed something on the cupboard door staring at her. For a moment, she just stared. Then BANG, she shuts it, comes into the living room and says: THERE'S A SNAKE IN THE KITCHEN!

We called my father and told him, he was in a meeting so he called my uncle who had a lunch break. He called and said he'll be coming with a 'Khabeer Gheelaan', which means Snake Expert.

Snake Expert my face.

Before they came I made a little research and found out that the snake is called: The Blind Snake.
It is harmless. HARMLESS. And of course, part blind, hence the name. It fears human beings, and gets eaten by owls, cats and other snakes. The poor little creature lives on ants, ANTS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!

Isn't it the cutest thing?

I told my mother we didn't need the expert, and I could take care of it myself. She disagreed, afraid it will run away or something. I tried convincing her that its head is smaller than the tip of my pinkie, and no way it would bite, and if it did nothing will happen because it isn't poisonous, but she said No. So I put my hope in the Snake Expert, believing he knows what he's dealing with. A Harmless Snake.

... My uncle pulled it out of the cupboard, and the 'snake expert' ... killed it. The MURDERER! I let out a shriek "Haram!", I was so shocked, I thought they would throw it in the garden and let it keep on being the gardener's friend. (As decribed in the book about Snakes in Oman)

They thought it was ‘SOO FUNNYY’ and kept laughing and saying phrases like:
تمت عملية الإعدام بنجاح، لقد تم اعدام المدعي غول عماني في صباح اليوم، الآن سنأخذ هذا الغول إلى المدعي عمّار لأنه يحب أكل الغيلان العمانية
... and other things while I was on the verge of crying.

I wanted to tell him he was wrong and that I already read about the snake and that he’s a murderer and a fraud. But I saw it better to thank him, maybe next time a really bad snake would come, we wouldn’t mind it being murdered then.

I am so sorry, my friend, Blind Snake. I swear, I never wanted you dead, may God forgive me for not stopping the murder.*tears*

From now on, I shall dedicate myself to saving innocent snakes.

أهل عمان، ولغز الديو

2008-02-06T22:02:00.001+04:00

إذا عرف السبب ... بطل العجب

اقروا اللي مكتوب ورا الديو، من مكوناته: اللباااااان

If you never tried to put yourself in a fridge ...

2008-01-30T21:45:00.000+04:00

... Then you didn't live your childhood.

(TED Talks) Do schools today kill creativity?

2008-01-26T22:22:00.001+04:00

This is a video that was shown at the University today, where Sir Ken Robinson talks about how children nowadays are "educated out of creativity".

Truth be told, if I knew I could earn a living in this country by becoming a director, I would've gone for it. But ... HAHA!

More about TED Talks:

TED (Technology Entertainment Design) is an annual conference held in Monterey, California and recently, semi-annually in other cities around the world. TED describes itself as a "group of remarkable people that gather to exchange ideas of incalculable value". Its lectures cover a broad set of topics including science, arts, politics, global issues, architecture, music and more.
- Wikipedia.

Terror breathes the air I breathe ...

2008-01-24T21:45:00.000+04:00

... It's the checkpoint on my way to school.

Brothers and Sisters in Muscat Festival:

Brothers and Sisters in Gaza:

Oh, sorry, it's all black. I think this is a lesson for us to take pictures of them in daylight next time, when their electricity is cut off again.

"Each day you wake in tranquillity
No fears to cross your eyes
Each day I wake in gratitude
Thanking God He let me rise
You worry about your education
And the bills you have to pay
I worry about my vulnerable life
And if I'll survive another day
Your biggest fear is getting a ticket
As you cruise your Cadillac
My fear is that the tank that has just left
Will turn around and come back ..."

"See I've known terror for quite some time
57 years so cruel
Terror breathes the air I breathe
It's the checkpoint on my way to school
Terror is the robbery of my land
And the torture of my mother
The imprisonment of my innocent father
The bullet in my baby brother
You blame me for defending myself
Against the ways of my enemies
I'm terrorized in my own land
What? And I'm the terrorist?"

Outlandish - Look Into My Eyes

Let's just BE the West and get it over with

2008-01-23T22:51:00.000+04:00

*----*

We should think like the West. If we don’t: Then we are closed-minded.

We should express our opinions like they do, even if it is offending. If we don’t: It means we have no freedom of speech, or are too dumb to understand it.

We should consider taking our scarves off. If we don’t: This means we are controlled by men.

We should accept seeing people half naked. If we don’t: Then sadly, we are still a backward society.

Until when will the world be judged by THEIR standards? Building a bridge between different cultures does not mean making a culture sink into another. If that happens, we won’t need the bridge then, will we.

Aicha

2008-01-17T19:01:00.001+04:00

The reason I wrote about Outlandish before writing this is because I'm going to share bits of an article by Dr. Albrecht Fuess, chair of Islamic studies in Erfurt University where he speaks of how they took the famous song ‘Aicha’, and changed it. He made a comparison between Cheb Khaled’s ‘Aicha’ and Outlandish’s ‘Aicha’. What I quote from him will be in baby blue.

When the name ‘Aicha/Aisha’ is mentioned in Arab or Islamic countries, it is subconsciously connected to religion, strong personality and beauty. These were what Aisha, the mother of believers, had.

“Choosing the name Aicha as a name for a song by both Cheb Khaled and Goldman was no coincidence. Both put in mind the popularity of the name Aicha. And Aicha in Cheb Khaled’s song shows the strong, Arabic woman who makes her decisions for herself. The Aicha in Cheb Khaled’s version ignores the singer and walks past him as though he is not there.”

The singer asks her to come with him, promising to give her jewels and write her poems, but she replies:

“Keep your treasures
I'm worth more than all that
A cage is a cage, even if it's made of gold
I want the same rights as you
And respect for each day
I don't want anything but love ”

“Outlandish’s version of ‘Aicha’ shows a great difference, lyrically, from Cheb Khaled’s. As the new song which Isam Bachiri sees as “A message of gratitude to the immigrants’ culture” does not have that dialogue between the man and the woman, and the song here talks about many ‘Aichas’. The ‘Aichas’ are mothers, sisters, wives, and future wives”

In this version, Aicha doesn’t talk. She truly represents the 'Aicha' strength and does not need to prove it by speech.

'Aicha,'the mother:
"She holds her child to her heart,
makes her feel like she's blessed from above.
Falls asleep underneath her sweet tear,
her lullaby fades away with his fear"

'Aicha,' the sister:
"Lord knows the way she feels,
everyday in his name she begins"

'Aicha,' the wife:
"She needs somebody to lean on,
someone body, mind and soul.
To take her hand, to take her world,
show her the time of her life, so true."

'Aicha,' the future wife:
"Aicha, Lady, one day it'll be real"

"When you first watch the video clip, it seems as a normal one. But if you concentrate you will notice that there are no interatctions between men and women. The only interaction was when the three men help a lady who dropped her grocery bag by picking up all the oranges and putting them back. Which shows that the man in this version of Aicha shows high respect to the woman."

The Universal 'Aicha':
"The women who play the role of 'Aicha' in this clip are many. Most of them are from the religious immigrants, but not only Muslim women. At the end of the clip it shows a woman who comes in and kisses her son goodnight, in the background there is a cross hanging on the wall."

Critisism:
"Outlandish's video of 'Aicha' did not get away without being critisized. Critics see it as a video that is with the idea of women not mingling with men, and leaving to her the job of raising the children. 'Notice in the beginning of the clip, the woman is a teacher'"

Isam Bachiri replied: "Maybe these critics believe that filming women half naked in a video is the way to 'free' the woman. Those women who are with men all the time are not part of our reality. The women in our clip who wear the hijab are there simply because our friends, sisters and mothers wear it."

Dr. Feuss compares between Cheb Khaled's 'Aicha''s strength to 'Aicha''s strength in Outlandish's version: "In Outlandish's version, the strength in the woman is from her faith in God."

A woman is strong by being what she is, a woman. Trying hard to be something she isn't will only lead to losing track of what she's supposed to do in life. When a woman shouts out for her so called rights, it doesn't show strength, it shows weakness.

Outlandish

2008-01-16T21:00:00.000+04:00

You might be wondering why I’m writing about them, but it’s just an introductory to another post I’ll be writing soon Insha’Allah.

In the photo above, from left to right:
Waqqas Al Qadri: Pakistani background, Muslim.
Lenny Martinez: Latin-American background, Catholic.
Isam Bachiri: Moroccon Background, Muslim.

"If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything"
What interested me about this is that the Muslims are devoted Muslims, and the Catholic is a devoted Catholic. Despite the differences, they came together and formed a band. Not to add more meaningless songs to the world, but to bring back sincerity to them.

Isam Bachiri says: “Lyrically, we keep it very social realistic. Issues like racism, love, family, God, faith, player hatin’, politics and motherlands is what we are about.”

Quotes on them:

"The members of the band are known for their devotion to religion, along with their open-mindness. They live their life away from alcohol and pre-marital relationships."

"They don't show much interest in the music back in their country of origin. Isam Bachiri for example sees that the Arab female singers only compete on showing more skin."

"All three are religious, and that shows in their song lyrics."

***

We’ve had enough of those meaningless songs. The youth are very much into them, because they have no alternative. But when songs like these come out, and they start listening, the good side in them will choose them over the other shameful songs. When seeing that Muslims and Christians are trying to make a change, together..., it reminds me of "The common word". In Outlandish’s case, making ‘Music With Meaning’.Isn't this what it's all about? Helping each other find God and fixing the wrong in this world, together, instead of blaming each other for it. We're responsible for everyone God created, not only people of our own faith.

Omani Vocabulary

2008-01-12T21:07:00.000+04:00

*******
*******
*******

Imagine you are sitting down with a group of Omanis, and one of them asks: What does "Sembol" mean?

Now you'd probably reply and explain if you knew what it means ... if it actually meant anything.

To your surprise, another Omani says: No problem, I know.

Yey, I'm going to learn a new word!

The Omani goes on: Well, it has maaany meanings. Sembol could mean easy. Sembol could mean example and also sign or icon ... and it even means someone who is not given any face.

***

Confused? Don't worry, I've figured it all out.

Sembol #1: Easy. Here, the Omani was referring to word Simple.
Sembol #2: Example. Here, he is referring to Sample.
Sembol #3: Sign or Icon. Referring to Symbol.

The last one. Well, he might've meant the word: Sampal. But that's not even English.

To an Omani, they all sound the same: Sembol.
You gotta love us.

Glass half empty/Glass half full

2008-01-12T07:54:00.000+04:00

“A true believer sees only what he does have, and a claimer sees only what he doesn’t.” – Dr. Omar AbdulKafi

Be thankful for what you have ... and what you don't.