YouTube – Crescentwatch.org // Shawwal Moon Sighting Video 2006

Assalamu alaikum, moon sighitng video from Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. 

Link: YouTube – Crescentwatch.org // Shawwal Moon Sighting Video 2006.

Islamica Magazine – Is One Offensive Cleric More Important Than 38 Reasonable Ones?

Link: Islamica Magazine – Is One Offensive Cleric More Important Than 38 Reasonable Ones?.

HE’S B-A-A-A-A-C-K…

Link: HE’S B-A-A-A-A-C-K….

VOA News – Bush Marks Ramadan at White House

Assalamu alaikum / greetings, President Bush holding an iftaar at the White House is like … is like …  What is it like?  Someone please help me think of a good analogy.  And get this quote:

"President Bush praised these men, saying they bring credit to their faith, and by their deeds make America a better and stronger country."

A credit to their faith?  Reminds me of how African-Americans were described pre-Civil Rights Movement.  Anyone remember the phrase "a credit to their race"?  I don’t know, but the phrase, "a credit to their faith", what does that mean exactly?  It just seemed derogatory to me anyway. 

Link: VOA News – Bush Marks Ramadan at White House.

VOA News – Senegal’s President Seeks Re-Election Amid Worsening Problems

Link: VOA News – Senegal’s President Seeks Re-Election Amid Worsening Problems.

Gambia: What’s With Last Year’s Dakar Agreement

Link: allAfrica.com: Gambia: What’s With Last Year’s Dakar Agreement.

GOVI Celebrates White Cane Day

Link: ..::The Gambia Journal Online::...

Hawaii?governor declares statewide emergency – CNN.com

Link: Hawaii?governor declares statewide emergency – CNN.com.

Muslim athletes fast, pray and play

Link: delawareonline ? The News Journal ? Muslim athletes fast, pray and play.

Indigo Jo Blogs: The other side of micro-credit

Link: Indigo Jo Blogs: The other side of micro-credit.

Dr.M’s Analysis: A closer look at micro-finance

Link: Dr.M’s Analysis: A closer look at micro-finance.

Why I Gave Up On Hip-Hop – washingtonpost.com

Link: Why I Gave Up On Hip-Hop – washingtonpost.com.

Lecturer Dispels Myths About Islam | theledger.com

Link: Lecturer Dispels Myths About Islam | theledger.com.

Hard Facts on Black America ? Tariq Nelson

Link: Hard Facts on Black America ? Tariq Nelson.

Air America Files For Bankruptcy – washingtonpost.com

Link: Air America Files For Bankruptcy – washingtonpost.com.

“Well, that’s just Crazy!”

     Assalamu alaikum, my cousin is getting married today, and I’m debating whether or not to go to the wedding.  Well, it’s not so much the wedding, but the reception afterwords!  And why you ask?

     Well, in short, I don’t want to deal with the incessant questions of, "Why are you not eating?"  Because when I give the answer, I don’t want to hear, "Oh that’s just crazy!", or "That’s just awful!"

     My own mom just this morning said, "You mean you can’t drink punch?"  And when I said, "No Mom, not even punch."  She responded with, "Well, that’s just crazy!"

     And that just made me all the more exasperated and irritated, because I go through this almost every year with at least some member of my family who, personally speaking, should really know better!  I’ve been Muslim for 6 years now!  Since December of 2000, and OK, guys, when are you going to get the hint!?

     It reintroduces in my mind the fact that I think that some of my family members are just waiting on me to snap out of it, and "go back to the way I was before", etc.  And while it may seem like I’m being some kind of wimp, or damaging family ties, or "not taking advantage of this great opportunity of Dawa", the fact is, I don’t want to deal with people who just don’t get it!  And not only don’t get it, but will say so, in a whole roomful of people, to my embarrassment.

     That is what happened when I went to my brother’s wedding reception.  We were all getting ready to go get our plates from the buffet of food, and my father quietly mentioned to my uncle, who had offered to go and get my food, that I didn’t eat pork.  My grandmother, on hearing this statement, launched into a barrage of, "What do you mean she doesn’t eat pork!  It’s only the Jews and Arabs that don’t eat Pork, Jesus made everything lawful!", etc., etc.

     At that point, I almost asked my dad, or someone else, to take me home!  I was absolutely embarrassed!  Because she said it loud enough that the people around me could have heard!  And I hate it when attention is drawn to me like that!

     And when I mentioned it to my mom later on that evening, I was told, "Oh, you gotta understand, she’s old and set in her ways!"  So I guess it didn’t matter that I was embarrassed and offended at that, by the callousness and close-mindedness of that statement!

     And I just don’t feel like dealing with that!  I want to go to my cousin’s wedding, to see my cousin get married, and to see family members.  My mom was saying this morning that we, my brother, sister-in-law, and I, should try to go and at least see my grandmother, as she is getting old, so now, if I don’t go, I get to feel guilty on top of everything else!  So I don’t know what to do.  I guess it really shouldn’t be the "momentous decision" that I’m making out of it!

     But I don’t want to hear "what do you mean you’re not eating" 100 times, if I can possibly help it. or the "Well, that’s crazy!" again, from people who really should know better!

     I’ve been accused of "internalizing everyone else’s problems", because "if they have a problem with you fasting and not eating, it’s their problem and not yours"  And while that is true, it becomes my problem when they yell out their disapproval in a room full of people who, if they didn’t know before that you were abstaining from food and drink, they most surely know now!

     Maybe I should go, and if I get any grief, say, in my most sarcastic way, "It’s not your problem, why are you concerned!"  But that’s not how a good Muslim should behave, and it’s not how our Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), would have dealt with it!

     My mother asked me if I’d get dehydrated, not being able to drink liquids, and I said no, you just drink plenty of water, etc., when you can eat and drink, after sunset and before dawn.  Something I used to say, when my parents would start with this is, "If they can fast in the middle of the 7th century, in the middle of the desert, then I can fast in the 21st century, with air-conditioning, and a relatively easy lifestyle!"  I mean, it’s not like I’m doing heavy farm labor or construction.  I actually know someone who is doing construction right now, and I actually do feel for them, because I have an office job where I just sit at a desk. 

     So anyway, I’ve been fasting for 6 years now!  And I’ve never had a problem, short of the usual headache or tiredness during the first few days of Ramadan, but this year, I didn’t even have that, Alhamdulillah!

     And let’s just say I did find myself ill from dehydration, or some other sickness, at that point, it would be permissible to break my fast to deal with that.  But I’ve never had that happen.

     So anyway, we’ll see what happens.  If my brother goes, I’ll talk to them and ask them to stay with me, maybe they can be the bulwark against the maybe impending slings from people.  Or maybe something good will come out of this.  Allah alone knows best.

      

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | ‘If you are strangling a man, don’t ask why his eyes are popping out’

Link: Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | ‘If you are strangling a man, don’t ask why his eyes are popping out’.

A brush with Gambia’s “Servant of the People”?|?Reuters Recommends?|?Reuters.com

Link: A brush with Gambia’s "Servant of the People"?|?Reuters Recommends?|?Reuters.com.

BBC NEWS | Africa | Gambian bumsters clean up their act

Link: BBC NEWS | Africa | Gambian bumsters clean up their act.

Wary Pakistanis doubt motives of U.S. charity – Asia – Pacific – International Herald Tribune

Link: Wary Pakistanis doubt motives of U.S. charity – Asia – Pacific – International Herald Tribune.