On Holocaust Exploiters, Deniers, & Heroes – altmuslim.com

Assalamu alaikum, all I can say is Mashallah. I find it interesting / sad / funny / ironic that I’ve never read of any Muslims helping in protecting Jews from the Holocaust, even though countries like Bosnia and Albania and Turkey were involved in World War II, and were directly affected by the Holocaust. I wonder why that is? Well, I can guess, but I won’t. But Mashallah, what a good article.

Link: On Holocaust Exploiters, Deniers, & Heroes – altmuslim.com.

On Holocaust Exploiters, Deniers, & Heroes – altmuslim.com

Assalamu alaikum, all I can say is Mashallah. I find it interesting / sad / funny / ironic that I’ve never read of any Muslims helping in protecting Jews from the Holocaust, even though countries like Bosnia and Albania and Turkey were involved in World War II, and were directly affected by the Holocaust. I wonder why that is? Well, I can guess, but I won’t. But Mashallah, what a good article.

Link: On Holocaust Exploiters, Deniers, & Heroes – altmuslim.com.

On Holocaust Exploiters, Deniers, & Heroes – altmuslim.com

Assalamu alaikum, all I can say is Mashallah. I find it interesting / sad / funny / ironic that I’ve never read of any Muslims helping in protecting Jews from the Holocaust, even though countries like Bosnia and Albania and Turkey were involved in World War II, and were directly affected by the Holocaust. I wonder why that is? Well, I can guess, but I won’t. But Mashallah, what a good article.

Link: On Holocaust Exploiters, Deniers, & Heroes – altmuslim.com.

On Holocaust Exploiters, Deniers, & Heroes – altmuslim.com

Assalamu alaikum, all I can say is Mashallah. I find it interesting / sad / funny / ironic that I’ve never read of any Muslims helping in protecting Jews from the Holocaust, even though countries like Bosnia and Albania and Turkey were involved in World War II, and were directly affected by the Holocaust. I wonder why that is? Well, I can guess, but I won’t. But Mashallah, what a good article.

Link: On Holocaust Exploiters, Deniers, & Heroes – altmuslim.com.

More on Umm Zaid’s post…

Assalamu alaikum, Izzy Mo has some thoughts on Umm Zaid’s post dealing with Muslim men married to non-Muslim women, etc.

Let’s just say they’ve said things a lot better than I could have, and leave it at that. And I had a whole post written out and all, and it just kinda sorta disappeared, for no apparent reason!

But anyway, I’m tired, so guess I’ll go now.

I’m still mulling over "The Burning Bed". But don’t mind me, I’ll just obsess over this for a while and then promptly get distracted by something else, move on, and forget about it.

The Burning Bed

Assalamu alaikum, why do I do this to myself? I’m watching "The Burning Bed", on one of the Encore channels, but I don’t remember which one.

For anyone who doesn’t know, "The Burning Bed" is the story of Francine Hughes, a woman who, after enduring years of abuse from her husband, killed him one night, by setting the house on fire while he slept.

I don’t know why I’m even watching this movie, seeing as how these sorts of things are really hard for me to watch, for obvious reasons. And the really sad thing is, this woman felt the need to take this step, because she didn’t feel like she could get help anywhere else. What was really angering to me was the family pretty much telling her that she should deal with it and how it was her job to keep things together, and then to have her mother-in-law sit there and lie on the stand and say that her son didn’t do the sorts of things that the defense lawyer was alleging. I mean, she said something to the affect of "I don’t know where you got your information", etc. But all that did was kind of make her look bad, and sort of gave me the impression that, well, now you know the source, now you know how he could have got that way. But Subhanallah, I shouldn’t say that. But it was the whole trying to either justify the behavior or just plain pretend or lie and say that it didn’t exist or it didn’t happen, or that if anything did happen, it was minimalized and brushed over, like it was no big thing.

Not that murdering abusive husbands is OK, but I guess if someone is pushed to an extreme, then they will do extreme things.

I can say from my experience that many times I had wondered if I was going crazy. You really feel completely alone and afraid and so indecisive because you don’t know whether to go one way or another, and your primary motivation becomes just trying not to make him mad, so he doesn’t beat you. It’s like it becomes all about survival, and I mean this literally.

But you also are trying to keep yourself from going crazy. It’s almost like you feel like you’re going insane or losing your mind. And you find yourself trying so hard to be what you think he wants you to be, so that he’ll stop abusing you, that you start to not even know who you are anymore. And trying to be someone you’re not, and in trying to suppress who you are, the real you, because * he * doesn’t like it, it really can drive you crazy.

And this isn’t even talking about your self-esteem, your feelings of self-worth. And this is why abuse is so insidious, and why it is so destructive to a person. I’d had moments where I just plain wanted to die. I wouldn’t say that I was suicidal, well, I’d say borderline suicidal, because I just wished for death. I know it’s wrong, I know it might be haram. But at that time, I felt like I was the lowest thing on the face of the earth. I was completely depressed. I felt like the world would be better off without me, and glad to see me gone. I even despaired of Allah’s Mercy and Forgiveness, may Allah prevent me from getting to that point again. And I had moments where I thought, if Allah decides to take me now, He would probably send me to Hell now, because I wasn’t as good of a Muslim as I should have been, because I was going through a phase where I wasn’t praying regularly, Astaghfirullah. Or because I couldn’t keep my husband happy, or any myriad of reasons that my mind came up with.

I can’t tell you how many times I’d just lay in the bed and cry, how many times I would cry and he wouldn’t even know it! How he’d be right in the next room, or right next to me, and I’d just be crying. And I’d be in so much unbelievable pain, but I couldn’t express it to the one person that I wanted to care. The one person who should have cared.

I remember making dua that Allah would help me, I’d ask forgiveness for wanting to die, I’d ask forgiveness for feeling so low. But I’d make dua that things would get better, even if Death was the only way that they would.

I remember thinking sometimes, that I wish that he’d just hit me hard enough so maybe I’d just black out and just not wake up again. But of course, any time I tried to express to him what kind of pain I was in, I’d get told that I was messed up mentally, though those were not his exact words, and that would just be used to show just what a terrible person I was, and how I should consider myself lucky that he chose to stay with me.

So if you can’t understand why a woman would kill her abusive husband, well, go and talk to women who have benn abused. And no, killing your abusive husband is not OK, as I’ve said before. But a lot of times, you’re just plain not thinking clearly. And I’d even venture to say that your mental state is completely altered. You just want the pain to stop, you just want the abuse to stop. And if you feel like there is nowhere you can go to, well then, you might get to such a point of desperation that you’ll either kill yourself or the person abusing you. Yeah, it may not be right, yeah, it may not be pretty. But it does happen, sad to say.

Anyway, so I guess I’ll finish watching this movie. But it’s moments like these, when I see a movie, or recall a past event in my own life, which really makes me wonder if I’ve made as much progress in healing from this, getting over it, and moving on as I think I have.

I really think that coming to terms with this sort of thing is truly a day-by-day experience, and you don’t just get over it over night. And even though in the movie, she was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity, and the movie had a happy ending, I’d also imagine that she probably had a lot of healing to do.

All I can say is "Alhamdulillah!" that I had the strength to get out and be able to make a better life for myself. And I know this may be wrong, but there is a part of me that would love to see my ex-husband now, just so I can say, "Look at me! Look at what I’ve done. I’ve done everything you said I wouldn’t do." I’ve succeeded without him, I didn’t fail, I didn’t "amount to nothing". And you know, this might be a complete shocker to him, but, well, some man might actually want to marry me some day! "Oh, the horror!" I’m sure my ex is thinking, but let him! Let him think what he wants. Yaum-al-qiyama is coming, just as sure as anything, and he will have to answer to Allah for what he has done. So I take solace in that.

But it feels good to know that I’ve survived. It feels good to know that I’ve succeeded, by the Will and Permission of Allah, and with His help, and His Mercy. He has given me everything, and given me the strength to persevere and keep going. And I am truly thankful for that.

Hmmmm….

Assalamu alaikum, well, hmmm, where do I start with this? And this is written strictly off the cuff, right off the top of my head, so take it for what it’s worth. I, personally, don’t think I have anything particularly against non-Muslim women who are married to Muslim men. I think any negative reaction that I have is directed more toward the man, than the woman, because, I don’t know, I just think that the man should know better. And I wonder sometimes if Muslim men purposefully go after American or Western women, whether they are Muslim or not, simply because they think they can get away with things that they would not be able to get away with, if they married a Muslim woman, say, from their own culture? I don’t know, and I certainly don’t want to give the impression that I think all Muslim men are bad or anything, but enough of them do this, and it seems that some Muslims sort of shrug this sort of behavior off, like it’s OK, or something, that it’s kind of becoming sort of a blight on the community. I just don’t like this idea that some Muslims, and in this case men, treat non-Muslims as inferior, and the thought just occurred to me that this could not only be applied to the marriage thing, and to women, in general, but you can also see this situation played out in the whole "Muslims owning liquor stores" thing. Yeah, it’s haram, yeah, Muslims don’t drink alcohol, and the owners of said stores wouldn’t dare serve it to their Muslim brothers and sisters, but they, at the same time, see no problem with making it available to non-Muslims. But what’s wrong is wrong, isn’t it? I mean, you still have rights and obligations and there’s still the halal and haram, and it doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with Muslims or non-Muslims, does it? Or does it? Is it that there’s one standard that some apply to Muslims, and another that they apply to non-Muslims, because, as we know, they’re just kafir and infidels anyway, so who cares how badly we treat them, or what kind of poison we feed them. Is that how it is? And someone please tell me how is that good dawa? How do you expect to call people to Islam if you’re acting like this? And the answer is, I don’t know. This just reminds me of what I’ve always thought, that the morality of a society shouldn’t be put squarely on the shoulders of the women. Because as they say, it takes two to tango, ya know? Why aren’t men being pushed, as women are, to be modest, chaste, Allah-fearing men? Why can you find a million books on hijab and the ideal Muslim woman, etc, but what about the man? Shouldn’t the man be a good Muslim, honest, modest, all of that? I don’t know if I even want to get started on this whole topic. And why can’t a woman state that she does not want to be in a polygynous marriage? I know I don’t. Am I somehow wrong for saying that? Am I somehow less of a Muslim, because I’m honest enough with myself to say that I don’t think that could be a situation that I could deal with? Why is it that women who don’t feel comfortable with polygamy are somehow viewed as being "too Western" or not Muslim enough, or somehow flouting the deen? While at the same time, you have some sisters who seem to be afraid of the single Muslimahs in the community, because they are afraid that their husbands will want them for the "second wife"? How is that for double standards? You’re going to chastise a woman for not being down with the polygamy thing, yet at the same time, get jealous because you’re afraid that some single Muslimah’s got her eye on your husband. Subhanallah… And before anyone says anything, I want to say that I am not against polygyny, in principle, but I think in a lot of instances, it is not handled or practiced correctly, and that’s the problem I have. Not to mention my own personal, emotional, hang-ups about it, which makes me think of something else. So, if I say I don’t want to be in a polygynous marriage, does that make me selfish? That’s another one you often here. But anyway, I guess that is all I’d wanted to say, so go read the article below…

Link: Sunni Sister: Blahg Blahg Blahg ? Blog Archive ? Good Enough.

Islamic Center unites Muslims

Assalamu alaikum, this article is about the small Islamic center in Clarksville… Mashallah, nice to see some positive Muslim news.

Link: The Leaf Chronicle – www.theleafchronicle.com – Clarksville, TN.

The Whole Lifetime Mess

     Assalamu alaikum, well, hmmm…  I didn’t even know that Lifetime had been pulled off of Dish Network, which is my sattelite provider, until I called to pay my bill, and in one of the menu options, of the choices was, "If you’re calling about missing Lifetime channels", and then you had to press Option 1, at hwihc point, you got a message saying that Lifetime wanted them to pay more or raise their rates, or something like that.

     I really don’t understand the whole contract dispute, except that it comes down to money.  I guess there is a dispute between what Lifetime wants to charge for Dish Netowrk to carry the channel, and how much Dish Netowrk wants to pay. 

     I watched Lifetime occasionally, and also Lifetime Movie Netowork, as well, but I guess not enough to really miss them.

     What I really don’t like, though, is Lifetime trying to make this a women’s issue, by saying and putting ads in newspapers saying that Dish Network doesn’t care about women, and that women should switch from Dish Netowork to cable

     Really?  Why should we, or I, as a woman, do that, just becuase you guys couldn’t agree on a contract?  And that is what this is about.  This is about money and business, pure and simple, and it has nothing to do with Dish Netowrk not caring about women.

     And if Dish Network didn’t care about women, then they wouldn’t be trying to fill the void by carrying Oxygen, a channel which it didn’t care before, and also making other channels available in lower packages which weren’t available before.

      Surely, there has to be some solution to this, but I don’t know what.  And this thing also happened with Outdoor life Netowrk, I think, and OLN didn’t put ads in the paper saying that Dish Network didn’t care about men.

      That is one thing I don’t like about many women’s groups is that they try to make a political issue out of everything. 

      Anyway, I used to watch "Strong Medicine" and "Any Day Now", when that show was on, but I don’t watch it anymore, obviously, since I’m not going to change sattelite or cable providers now, just to get a channel I never really watched before. 

     However, I don’t know, I think something’s got to give at some point, I guess.  But who knows.

     BTW, I know this hasn’t been my best written post, lol, but I just realized I’ve barely eaten all day, and I’m starting to feel really hungry!  So my brain is well, not working.  So again, excuse the typos, because I, again, don’t feel like correcting them. 

Don’t Know What’s Going On, But…

     Assalamu alaikum, I don’t know what’s going on, but I just wanted to add my two cents to the "support Sunni Sister" chorus.

     I don’t know what happened, I don’t know who said what, or what their disagreements or problems with the blog were, but, as I commented on Sister Scorpion’s blog, whatever happened to adab / maturity / common sense?

     And also, I agree with wht some have said, that if they, how he, or whoever "it" is, had disagreements with her, why not bring it up on their blog?

     But as I said, I don’t know exactly what happened, so I don’t want to start speculating or making pronouncements on something that I hardly know anything about, because feet don’t taste very good. 

     I just want to let Umm Zaid know that I support her, I definitely look forward to reading her postings / articles. 

     I don’t know what it is about January either, becuse it seems I had some drama crop up around January / February.  So maybe it’s January / February both that’s kinda weird. 

     OK, again, sorry for the typos, I just plain don’t feel like correcting them.  Sorry, I know it’s laziness. 

     OK, time to go put some more ointment in my eyes.  I’ve forgotten to do it the past few nights, and I can really feel it. 

I Got a Dell!

     Assalamu alaikum, disclaimer in advance, there might be some typos here, and it’s too late and I’m too tired at this point to correct them.  So, just be forewarned…

     Well, I ordered a new Dell desktop computer, to sort of go with my laptop computer, which I’d only like to use for traveling and other small tasks.  Or, my sister-in-law can use it when my brother is on his computer. 

     The thing is, I’m, Inshallah, in the process of building my dream set up, complete with a powerful computer with a lot of memory and hard drive space, a scanner with Kurzweil 1000 software, which will enable me to scan books, mail and other printed materials, and I’m even looking into getting a Braille disply.

     And there is a method to this madness, other than just the mere fact that I * want * to have all of htis stuff.

     I am considering going back to school and working toward my master’s degree in psychology.  Only Allah knows for sure whether or not I will do this, but I’m considering it, and I’d like to have a good comptuer setup going into this.  Thus, I purchased the desktop.

     Now, if I could just get my computer desk over here from my parents’ house, and get a nice computer chair to go with it.

    So, if I don’t blog for the next few days, it’s most likely becuase I’m getting this new comptuer set up the way I’d like it to be.

     Allah truly is great and wonderful and Merciful and all of that.  And I’ll try to remember that the next time I get a difficult call at work, and I feel like I want to get upset or frustrated or whatever. 

     Take care all.  I gotta go to bed, it’s really late here.

On The Current NADD Crisis

     Assalamu alaikum, the below thoughts were posted to the Gambia-l by one Jabou Joh.  I’ve gotten her permission to post them below.  I feel her thoughts are expressed very eloquently, and I could not have put things any better myself, though I have indeed tried.  Find her thoughts below…

The power struggle between the different opposition camps made  the
opposition leadership loose their heads a long time ago and forget that this  alliance
was supposed to have the purpose of being a temporary fix towards  a longer
term solution, simply pooling the voting bases of the  various opposition
parties  to unseat a dictatorship and freeing  our people from the grips of the
brutal and mad dictator and then  leveling the playing field for all to eventually
freely participate  later, instead of the process being a fulfillment of
someone’s dream  of coming to power. It was supposed to be a tool that would
eventually  benefit the Gambian people, not any individual politicians’ or group’s
"window of opportunity" to grab power, and with this mad rush for power, one
wonders if those so hell bent on being the leader would not embark  upon all
manner of games to stay in power once they come to  head a transitional
government if it means so much to them.Will  it become an avenue to gain the unfair
advantage and hang on for  decades like Yaya and the PPP before them? Are
these guys really  sincere about this alliance and will whoever finally wins this
rat  race they have created honor the terms of the MOU  once they come into
power or is it just a facade, a masquerade while they are  busy trying to
out-wit each other behind the scenes and as soon as any of  them finds a tromp card
to  use against the others, an avenue to go it  alone, they will go off on
their own? If they ever come to a  consensus, will the MOU be honored by the
"winner" once an  election is won by NADD or will it be thrown into the dustbin
once the  goal is accomplished while the winner embarks on orchestrating
another long  term multi decade reign?  One truly wonders given the current
situation.

The MOU has limitations on future political activity that it places on  the
flag bearer and the un-ending power struggle that anyone with a brain knew
would lead to just the fiasco we are witnessing was the reason that a flag
bearer without affiliation to any opposition party made sense and would  have been
readily accepted without question by these politicians if they had the
interest of the Gambian people instead of their own interests at heart. Instead,
they set out to carve a way for them to assume power and that may infact end up
defeating the purpose of the alliance.

Their egos, quest for power and the belief that any power, even if it is a
temporary one and even if it contradicts everything the effort  was supposed to
accomplish, belongs to them and them only got in the way.  This was evident
and the hand writing was on the wall when they registered NADD  as a political
party instead of an alliance and it became evident that they  wanted to draw
from amongst their ranks to run an interim government. That  was when I lost
all hope in this venture knowing the inevitable power struggle  that will ensue
and here we are.

This gave the regime an excuse to set them on a course the  effects of which
they are still reeling from.  That gross mistake  which I believe was fueled
by each opposition  party viewing this an as opportunity to be in power and
being damned if they were going to let anyone other than them come to power
when they view that position as rightly belonging to them; is what has led  NADD
down a path that is the opposite of what is written in the MOU they  signed
and it is amazing how this major contradiction is just brushed  aside by the
very people who authored the agreement they all signed. Are these  guys so power
hungry that they cannot even bring themselves to provide an  opportunity that
may enable an interim government that is not drawn  from their ranks to come
in to save our people from a major crisis that may  very well bring carnage to
our country? Anyone who stands in the way of such an  opportunity does not
have the right to represent themselves as a candidate to  represent the Gambian
nation and it’s people. Political leadership in a  democratic society is a Job,
paid for by the people,  not an  inheritance.

One cannot help but ask if some of these politicians are so power hungry
that they are willing to give up any future political activity within their
respective parties just so they can be President or is this  situation a
manifestation of their lack of sincerity towards  this alliance and an indication of
things to come?

Because a power struggle between these opposition parties was as inevitable
as day succeeding night, for them to choose a flag  bearer with no political
allegiance to any of the opposition has been  and is the only possible solution
here and even the terms of the MOU leaves no  doubt that this was the idea
because of the restrictions on future  political activity that it places on the
flag bearer.

Yaya Jammeh is ready with traps for each of these opposition  politicians at
every turn and I must say the course the NADD leadership has  taken so far has
given him and continues to give him all the tools he needs to  sabotage this
alliance, but the opposition is so blinded by the quest for power  that they
don’t seem to care that they are giving  Yaya endless  tools to use against
them and in the meantime, they have forgotten that  they serve the Gambian public
and this is about the welfare of that public and  not that of the
politicians. One has to wonder if we should not be asking these  guys who they represent,
the public or themselves?

On the other hand, we are also witnessing some people on this forum
attempting to muzzle journalists when the criticism and commentary from these
journalists is directed at a politician they support. When the same people  who have
been ranting and raving along with the rest of us about the misdeeds of  the
APRC regime with regard to human rights and press freedom are asking
journalists to refrain from commentary on what can only be described as a major  crisis
for the Gambian people, are we then to believe that such  supporters of any
future government will not engage in the same suppression  of press freedom.
Are we not to wonder if a request for a journalist to  refrain from commentary
on issues of the day today will not turn into a visit in  the middle of the
night and a trip to mile 2 for journalists tomorrow if  the same people find
themselves in positions of power?

No wonder Africa is in such a mess when we  view the politicians in our
corner as being above reproach and matters  that should be for public debate are
conducted behind closed doors and we do not  practice what we preach. So
freedom of the press is good only when it  criticises our opponents and contains
what we want to hear?  Whoever engages in that double standard does not have good
intentions for that is a guaranteed recipe for the creation  of monsters and
dictators and yet we say we want change and progress.  So long as we continue
to view criticism of our politicians and holding  them to account as acts of
hatred and our political allegiances/affiliations are  not dictated by the
pursuit of truth, justice and fairness for  all and that which is for the good of
all Gambians, but instead are  dictated by affiliations based on self
interest, we are fooling no one but  ourselves into believing that we are striving
for a society  where  true democracy will exist. So long as we continue to
refrain  from speaking truth to power and those aspiring to represent us because of
the  protection of some potential future personal gain, we will continue to
create a mafia like culture and cronyism in politics and any claim of
engaging in a struggle for a free and democratic society is nothing but  empty
hypocritical words because we simply exchange one self interest group  for another
if we are guided by that philosophy.

Are our politicians so feeble that any criticism and scrutiny by the  people
throws them into such a crisis that they will become confused and  are not
able to make the right decision or do those who are busy telling  journalists and
the Gambian public to shut up have hidden agendas that they are  afraid would
be exposed if the journalists and the people are free to make  commentary and
express their views and observations and speak their mind?

So long as we fail to resolve to stand for the truth, speak the  truth and
demand nothing but the truth from those who seek to  represent us, we will
forever be going around in circles no matter what  illustrious pronouncements about
justice, freedom and progress we continue  to make. It will all be just empty
words while we keep repeating the same  miserable cycle and the people we
profess to love so much and whose  interest we supposedly have at heart keep
suffering. So far, It is quite  evident that it is not about the interest of the
people that our  politicians and their under-studies have in mind because we
are at the eleventh  hour with the APRC regime and the people cannot take
anymore and the politicians  are fighting over power.

Jabou Joh

Time’s Up: The Remix — Or, What’s Up with NADD?

     Assalamu alaikum / greetings, regarding the current situation with NADD, find my thoughts below…  I start with the disclaimer that these are just my observations from very, very far away.  I do not know the situation on the ground, I do not have any contact with any of the political leaders of NADD, or any firsthand information like that, and thus, my observations are derived from the bits and pieces of the news reports, and other reports, as well as the commentary made by some on discussion groups, namely the <a href="http://www.gambiapost.net/">Gambia Post</a>.  So take my comments for what they are worth…

     Firstly, I do not know what is going on with NADD.  I do not know what is taking them so long to name a flag-bearer.  I do not know, exactly, what the problem is now, why they are not able to name a flag-bearer, after at least two years of being an alliance or coalition, or whatever. 

     However, I do not think that the blame can be heaped on just one person.  Most of the comments that I’ve seen regarding this latest "crisis" of NADD, want to heap all the blame on Oussainou Darbo and by extension the UDP.  Why is this? 

     Personally, I feel that all of the current members of NADD have a hand in NADD’s problems, simply because, as I’ve been saying, they can’t cast their egoes and their own self-interests aside long enough to put the interests of The Gambia, its people, and the coalition as a whole, ahead of themselves long enough to name a flag-bearer, come up with a platform, and get to the business of pushing Jammeh out of office later on this year.

     And the thing is, as much as I’ve seen some call for patience, and to give NADD or the UDP or whoever time to iron out whatever differences exist or may have existed, the truth is that NADD has had two years? to do this, this should have been done long ago!  There is no time for that now, and at the rate things are going, the members of NADD will still be ironing out differences and fighting amongst themselves the night of Election 2006 in The Gambia, as Jammeh as once again celebrating at State House or Kanilai or wherever, and laughing at the NADD members all the way to "Allah’s bank". 

     The really hard truth is, time has been up long ago!  Time was up when Jammeh had Halifa Salla, Hamat Bah, and Omar Jallow was it? (sorry I don’t remember the third guy arrested right offhand maybe it was Lamin Wa Juwara, sorry that I don’t remember ) arrested and detained.  That was the time where NADD could have come together, staunchly defended their arrested cohorts, and could have even called for a massive countrywide demonstration against the latest illegal tactics of the Jammeh government.

     But did they do that?  Not really.  Darbo may have represented some of the detained NADD members in court, but that’s about it.  It took them forever to come up with any kind of response, and it was a weak and whimpy one at that. 

     So, while they are continuing to hume and haw and fight amongst themselves, Gambians are suffering, Jammeh continues his grip on power, and time keeps moving on.

     The question I am left with is, "What is really going on?"  Is there a "crisis" in NADD, as some have suggested, or is everything just OK, and hunky dorry, as the STGDP press release suggests?  I think that Gambians and friends of The Gambia need to know the truth, however bitter it is to swallow.

     We don’t need propaganda, we don’t need tabloid journalism, we need hard and honest facts as they are, and not what some wish them to be.

     So what is the problem?  Why can’t NADD select a flag-bearer?  Is it all Darbo’s fault?  If so, why?  If it’s someone else’s fault, why and how?  Is it that you have competing interests, aphiliations, ideologies?  Is it the seemingly dreaded ethnic / tribal issue which no one seems to want to talk about, but which seems to be bubbling just under the surface?  What is it?

     I’m not asking these questions because I, Ginny, want an answer.  These are questions that NADD as an alliance, an entity, should be honestly asking itself.  Because if NADD, or anyone or anything else, for that matter, is going to succeed, then NADD needs to be honest with itself, determine what exactly the problems are, and find a workable solution.  And this should have happened long ago!  And if it doesn’t happen soon, then time will truly be up for NADD, if it is not already. 

     And if NADD can’t come to a workable understanding / agreement, then what happens?  Would it not be better for NADD to just level with the Gambian people, and just come out and let everyone know that things just didn’t work out?  Why continue to say everything is fine, when all indications seem to be suggesting that it is not?

     The really sad and unfortunate thing in all of this is, though, that while the members of NADD are seemingly fighting for their own short-term, individual interests, the Gambian people, as a whole, and The Gambia, long-term, are suffering and will suffer, as a result.  What I’m saying is that while NADD is fighting over short-term self-interests, they are losing sight of the long-term goal of ousting Jammeh and the current APRC regime, and thus, Inshallah / hopefully, insuring a better future for The Gambia and its people.

     But because the members of NADD have seemingly lost sight of this, The Gambia will suffer because of it!  And what’s more, Jammeh and the APRC will feel vindicated.  And what kind of vengeance and havoc will Jammeh wreak once he gets a third term in office?   

     I find it hard to understand why seemingly intelligent people, well-educated people, who all want Jammeh out of office, would be so unwilling to put their own interests aside long enough to name a flag-bearer, start the NADD campaign in earnest, and wrest power from Jammeh?  Then, at that time, they can indulge in their own self-interests as much as they’d like.  But now is not the time. 

     And on that note, I’m not sure what else to say.  I once again feel a sense of frustration at this whole situation.  So what is to be done?  Do we just continue to watch and wait and see what happens?  I wish I could somehow give some words of wisdom to the NADD members, but I’m sure that there are people already doing that.  And if they are, it sure doesn’t seem to be working.  But I just once again had to voice my thoughts on the situation, not that it matters or will make any difference on the final outcome.  I just feel an incredible sense of sadness and frustration, and a sinking feeling that Jammeh is going to once again prevail, simply because the opposition couldn’t come together long enough to get him out of office. 

     Jammeh is a boulder.  Maybe one person can’t push that boulder out of the way, but many people could, and NADD was and hopefully will be, the people needed and that it will take, to push that boulder out of the way and off the path.  But if the individuals who make up NADD can’t come to an agreement, and can’t work together, then that boulder is not going anywhere.  And in fact, that boulder will start rolling down the path, destroying everything it comes into contact with. 

     So how is that for an analogy?  And on that note, I really am going to go now.  I don’t think I’m saying anything new, that someone, somewhere along the line, hasn’t said already.  I’m just rehashing and repeating either things I, or someone else, has already said, and what good is that? 

Salatomatic

     Assalamu alaikum, well, I was browsing http://www.salatomatic.com, and…

     Well, I kind of like the concept, but I find the site lacking, but I think that is mostly due to the fact that a site like this can’t have any meaningful content unless someone contributes by adding masjids and / or reviewing them.

     I’ve been Googling around today, and I’ve come across petitions / calls for Salatomatic to "stop labelling the masjids".  And when I think of this, I’m not sure I completely agree with this.

     I understand how labeling a certain masjid might cause division and whatnot, however, in some cases, it can be a good thing.  For example, you might want to know if a certain masjid is a Shia one or not, and some people might like to know if a certain masjid adopts the Salafi Dawa or not.  I don’t see this as a "division", but merely a preference.  And I don’t really see what the problem is with letting people know which ideology a particular masjid adopts, or which ethnic group is predominant there. 

     These "divisions" according to ideology and ethnic group were there before Salatomatic came along, and it seems in a given community everyone knows about them anyway.  So why call on Salatomatic to "stop labelling masjids", when some Muslims do it anyway?

      Anyway, I personally don’t find anything wrong with denoting a particular masjid’s ethnic make-up or whether it follows a particular ideology, since I, for one, and I’m maybe the only one, find this information useful.  Since, I for one, would rather stay away from the really hard-core Salafi / Wahhabi / whatever they are or want to be called masjids.  I just kind of would like to know what I’m getting into, before going to a particular masjid, before I get into it.  And it seems that even if Salatomatic itself stops "labelling" masjids, the reviewers would most likely come along and "label" themasjids anyway.

     Does any of this make sense?  In short, I’m just saying that I, myself, don’t mind the labelling, because I think it provides useful information that a Muslim might want to know.

     However, I will say that the site does leave some things out.  For example, in the Chicago / Northwest Indiana area, there are no masjids listed in the Northwest Indiana area, except for one in Michigan City, and I also think that there are many in the Chicago area / south suburbs that have gotten left out also.  So someone, who may know more about these masjids than I do, needs to go and add them, plese?  Because I know there are at least two masjids in Gary, one in Highland, and there is the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center in Crown Point. 

     I also know there is a masjid over in Harvey, Illinois.  However, I don’t know enough about any of these masjids to be able to review them or provide any info on them.  So Inshallah, people living in these areas could go and add these masjids to the database.

     I just don’t see the harm in giving as much info about a masjid as possible, and I don’t see that, in and of itself, as "divisionary", since these "divisions" pre-existed Salatomatic. 

     However, I’d like to know how a masjid is defined as a "sufi" masjid.  I can understand the categorizing of "traditional" Sunni, Salafi, and Shia, but "sufi"?  I’d like to know how that one is defined.

     I also want to say that I’m all for "Muslim unity", and all of that, but at the same time, we can’t just bury our heads in the sand and pretend that divisions don’t exist within the Muslim community.  So just wanted to put that out there.

An Unanswered Question? — Maybe…

     Assalamu alaikum, I received the following comment, dealing with a posting I’d made to my blog, of a letter purportedly sent to Kofi Annan from President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia.

     The commentor is suggesting that the letter was fabricated.  However, on rereading my post, I’ve come to trust the person forwarding the letter.  However, as I commented on the Gambia Post list, if the letter is fabricated / not credible, then I would like to take it down. 

     Although I was counselled to ignore the commentor, that counsel seemed to totally miss the point of what I was saying, which was that I didn’t want to inadvertently put anything up on my blog that is or was fabricated or isn’t credible or is a hoax, or something like that.  It had nothing to do with ignoring the commentor or not.

     Besides, it seems that as much as the commentor likes to call the supposed fabricator of the letter a "high school dropout writer", the commentor can’t seem to write very coherently themselves.

     Also, I always find it interesting that many times, people who want to take pot shots at others seem to want to remain annonymous while doing so, and thus, don’t reveal their names.  I’d thought of not approving this comment, but on thinking about it, why should I shield someone from their own ineptitude?  They posted a comment in an effort to warn the rest of us of the so-called "fabrication" of the letter, so why not let them do so, and let the rest of us be the judge and do the necessary homework to make the decision for ourselves?

Comment begins:

this letter is fabricated.Any intelligent person will see that the style of this letter lack formal diplomacy,moreover coming from the president of the
gambia to the UN secretary general.We love our country and our president ,that we wont let any unpatroitic,self -centred sellout discredit our president
or country.
whoever wrote this letter should be ashame of him/herself for such a cheap,immature and ignorant letter attributed to our dear president,and the subsequent
analysis of it.
Long live The Gambia
Long live Yaya
woe betide you secondary dropout writer
A Gambia in USA

Posted by: |
Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at 09:47 AM

Stomach Virus!

     Assalamu alaikum, well, on Tuesday (yesterday), I had the dreaded stomach virus / stomach flu.  My brother had it Saturday night into Sunday, and I tried everything not to get it, but alas, I guess it was the will of Allah that I get it, because Monday night I started feeling nauseous, and by yesterday morning, I knew I wasn’t going into work.

     It was really bad, no throwing up, Alhamdulillah, but it was bad enough.

     I could barely do my prayers, and I’ve never been in that position before.  Any moving around, or standing, or sitting up, brought up waves of nausea, and it was just bad, that is all I can say.

     Anyway, Inshallah, I’m through the worst of it.  I really hate being sick, and I hate this sort of thing worst of all.

‘I’m a door kicker-inner,’ one young Marine blurted out – to the dismay of his superiors – World – Times Online#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World

Assalamu alaikum, I got this from Abu Sinan’s blog.

Link: ‘I’m a door kicker-inner,’ one young Marine blurted out – to the dismay of his superiors – World – Times Online#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World.

‘I’m a door kicker-inner,’ one young Marine blurted out – to the dismay of his superiors – World – Times Online#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World

Assalamu alaikum, I got this from Abu Sinan’s blog.

Link: ‘I’m a door kicker-inner,’ one young Marine blurted out – to the dismay of his superiors – World – Times Online#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World.

‘I’m a door kicker-inner,’ one young Marine blurted out – to the dismay of his superiors – World – Times Online#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World

Assalamu alaikum, I got this from Abu Sinan’s blog.

Link: ‘I’m a door kicker-inner,’ one young Marine blurted out – to the dismay of his superiors – World – Times Online#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World.

‘I’m a door kicker-inner,’ one young Marine blurted out – to the dismay of his superiors – World – Times Online#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World

Assalamu alaikum, I got this from Abu Sinan’s blog.

Link: ‘I’m a door kicker-inner,’ one young Marine blurted out – to the dismay of his superiors – World – Times Online#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=World.