BBC – Ouch! – Features – We’ve found the solution, now let’s create the problem

As the Man Booker Prize short list is announced for another year, visually impaired radio presenter Ian Macrae laments the fact that he still can’t get
hold of accessible books in the United Kingdom.

BBC – Ouch! – Features – We’ve found the solution, now let’s create the problem

Shock to canines leads to anguish for blind couple; Painful zap from walking near power transformer impairs Seeing Eye dogs and forces one to be retired

Osprey Media. – St. Catharines Standard

An unlikely love | Family and relationships | Life and Health

Her grandmother is 75 and has found a new partner – a 25-year-old man she met in Gambia. Should Sophie McKimm suspect their motives, she wonders, or be
glad that they have found each other?

Assalamu alaikum / greetings, uh, oh dear, uh, oh my! Well, uh, what to say? Well, honestly the first thought that popped in to my mind when the grandmother said that she had “shared something that she had only shared with her husband”, I thought, “Ewwww!” And then I thought “OK, OK, let’s not be so judgmental, perhaps it is really “love” or whatever.” And then I thought, “Well, what if he watns kids, he’s not going to have them with her.” And then I just gave up. Perhaps it’s a little bit of both. “Love” and the fact taht it seems that both are getting something out of this reltionship, and if the two of htem are happy, well, who am I to judge. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention, of Anna Nicole Smith can marry an “older man”, then well, who are we to say that anything is “wrong” with this sort of thing? OK, don’t ask me why I even published this, except that I found it to be an interesting article if nothing else.

An unlikely love | Family and relationships | Life and Health

What the rest of Africa could learn about AIDS | Chicago Tribune

What the rest of Africa could learn about AIDS | Chicago Tribune

Reuters AlertNet – SENEGAL: Marching for street kids

Reuters AlertNet – SENEGAL: Marching for street kids

Charlotte Observer | 04/20/2007 | CATS to help train guide dogs on buses

Assalamu alaikum / greetings. When I first saw the word “CATS” in the title, Jaws read it as “cats” as in “meow”. So the first thing that popped into my head was, “How are cats going to be used to train guide dogs? Oh, this I gotta see.” So I felt pretty foolish when I realized, after beginning to read the article, that “CATS” seems to be the acronym for the Charlotte Area Transit Service, aka CATS. Boy did I feel stupid then!

Charlotte Observer | 04/20/2007 | CATS to help train guide dogs on buses

The Shreveport Times

The Shreveport Times

Guide dog’s owner upset when businesses bark, balk

Guide dog’s owner upset when businesses bark, balk

The Midnight Special (TV series) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Assalamu alaikum / greetings, I’m only blogging this becuase the other morning, I woke up, and the TV was on in the bedroom. I think it was on the History Channel or something like that, and they were showing an infomerical about this DVD set you could order with all of the performances of “The Midnight Special”. I’d never actually heard of that TV show, but the clips of the performances they showed on the infomercial made me want to be it (smile*. I probably actually wouldn’t though, because well, they probably only showed you the best clips anyway. But I was thinking, these people could actually sing! These people actually had some talent! Maybe I’m just getting old! But they really did have some good performances on there.

The Midnight Special (TV series) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perkins adds voice to suit against US – The Boston Globe

Assalamu alaikum / greetings. I definitely *do not* agree with the NFB’s positionon this issue. Personally, I think the only reason why they are against the currency accessible issue is because the American Council of the Blind, their rival organization, as it were, were the ones who filed the suit. And funny tha the NFB wants to talk about frivolity when these were the people who sued over things like Mr. Magoo, etc. Talk about giving blind / visually impaired people a bad image.

And as for “having to adapt everything it work”, etc., well, for many blind people who are in the work force, many many significant adaptations need to be made for the job to be accommodated anyway, so I’m not sure why something like accessible currency would give employers the impression that blind people are not capable. Unless of course you have the opinion that everyone has the latest in technology, or a sighted friend, family member, or coworker at the ready to assist them whenver the need to identify money arises. Personally speaking, I really don’t like having to ask people to assist me in identifying my own money, and no, I don’t have a fancy shmancy currency reader that most likely is going to become obselete every time the US government decides to change the design of their bills.

Perkins adds voice to suit against US – The Boston Globe

MBC Group opens its eyes to the blind | mbc Group

MBC Group opens its eyes to the blind | mbc Group

Blind Woman With Service Dog Denied Service At Restaurant – Local News Story – WCAU | Philadelphia

Blind Woman With Service Dog Denied Service At Restaurant – Local News Story – WCAU | Philadelphia

Behind The Removal of Acting Mayor Gomez

Assalamu alaikum / greetings. A quote which is really, well, ironic to me anyway, is:

Reports explaining last weekend’s abrupt dismissal of KMC’s acting mayor, Francis Gomez have started filtering through. Mr. Gomez’s removal and replacement
by Mr. Alieu Momar Njai, was announced on Monday, but ominous signs could be detected already on Saturday when, addressing a vast jubilant crowd of party
supporters, President Jammeh thundered against an unnamed person at the KMC who he alleged was removing APRC supporters from the KMC office. President
Jammeh warned that people would soon see what would happen to the unnamed person. He called the unnamed person one of the “wolves in sheep clothing” who
appear to be supporting him but actually try to undermine him. Talking further on that theme, President Jammeh even lashed out at the crowd of sycophants,
musicians and griots present at the gathering many of whom he said were just flattering him but do not really support him. He said people should not think
he was not aware of such pretensions. Interestingly enough, he said he knew most of the people at the meeting had not voted for him in the last presidential
election. He said he won not because of them. They, he went on, might not know how he got his landslide, but he knew. 

Well, what can you say to that? He insults you right in front of your face and yet you still support him in droves? And notice him Jammeh tries to add more mystique, more, I don’t know how to call it, to make it look as though he is all-knowing or something? And if you click on the link and read the article, he talks about “real Muslims” and hypocrites. Oh as if he has any room to talk. *Sigh* Well, what can you say, except that Allah will call *all of us* including Yahya Jammeh himself, so just as I’m not going to waste too much time on people such as Irshad Manji, I won’t try to waste so much time on Yahya Jammeh. “The people have spoken” as it were, and this is the person that they say they want to lead them, so what can you do? Nothing really, as for the most part, the last elections seemed to be “free and fair”. I’d sure like to know where all of the religious leaders are, where are the imams, etc., why are they not speaking out against this? The isue of things like the Qur’an as props in Jammeh’s polticial game, the use of Islam to further subjugate his people? I have seem many non-Muslims, some Gambian, somenot, who are familiar with the situation in The Gambia, ask the question, “where are the Muslim leaders on all of this”. And I as a Muslim can’t say anything. I read postings of how “Jammeh is dressed in robes, carrying his prayer beads and the Qur’an” etc., as if carrying the Qur’an and prayer beads are a bad thing, etc. But could it be that Jammeh has corrupted the “tools of the pious” as it were, for his own aims? And whatever happened to “standing out firmly for justice”, etc., etc. Anyway, *skigh* I am just wasing my time.

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

Getting a second Leader Dog, Thoughts on Independence, etc.

Assalamu alaikum / greetings, OK so I think I’m finally going to “take the plunge” as it were, and get a second Leader Dog!

Actually, oddly enough, a sister at the masjid a while back asked if I was ever going to get another dog, this is after I’d told her about Abby. I said yes that I would like to, and of course, she added the caviot of “oh be careful because if she touches your clothes, you’ll have to wash them”, etc. And I didn’t even argue, I just nodded and said, “OK”, differences of opinion being a mercy and all. I wasn’t even going to go into the “the Maliki madhhab says, thus and such”, etc. Because what is the point? The sister meant well, and the fact that she even thought I *should* get a dog was a refreshing change from the usual, “why can’t your husband just help you” stuff I normally hear when the topic of getting a second dog is brought up.

The fact is, I don’t want to “rely on my husband for everything”. Perhaps this wouldn’t matter so much to a sighted woman, or perhaps it wouldn’t matter so much to other blind women, but my independence does matter a lot to me. And asking “why”, in an incredulous tone, or saying “why can’t your husband just help you”, or waxing on and on about “angels not entering a house with a dog in it”, or “you’ll losing X amount of reward a day of you keep a dog”, when the issue of getting a second dog is brought up, well, at the very least irritates me! And at the most, Astaghfirullah, makes me angry! Because it’s so easy to talk about “your husband helping you” or “angels not entering the house”, etc., or “you’d better not get a second dog because you’ll have a hard time finding a husband if you do”, when you, presumably as a sighted person, take your independence for granted. It’s so easy to talk like this when you can look outside, walk across the street, or down the street, to anywhere you want to go. Or, get in a car and drive to get there.

But Allah did not will for me to have that experience! For me, learning the skills needed to travel independently took years for me to learn, and not only to learn, but to master and to build up the self-confidence needed to be able to travel independently.

And although I do know that in some cases, in Islam there may be restrictions placed on women’s travel, etc., as a blind person, I find myself bawking at these restrictions. Because as a blind person, a house can be just as much of a prison as any jail can be, without the requisite skills to be able to walk out, and be able to go from Point A to Point B by myself. OK, OK, so I’m digressing. Just suffice it to say that I take my independence very seriously, and unless you have been in a position where you have had to fight for it, where it isn’t taken for granted because you possess functional use of all of your senses, well, I hate to sound cliche here, but it would be difficult for you to understand unless you yourself have had to go through something like this.

The fact is, the way I was raised, my mom used to tell me that I had to learn to do as much for myself as possible because “there isn’t always going to be someone around to do it for you”. And even though I am married now, and have a husband who would readily do something for me if I needed it, the fact is he isn’t always going to be around should I need something. Let’s say he travels, let’s say something happens to him (may Allah protect him from that), let’s just say he’s gone out for the day. And let’s say I need to run to the store. Let’s say I want to walk to the park. What am I going to do?

Of course, I could just use a cane, and for many blind people, that is sufficient. But frankly for me, it is not. I have had the privilege of using a dog for ten years, and I must say that having a dog with you, as opposed to a cane, there is a level of confidence and independence that I feel that for me anyway, surpasses the use of a cane.

And what is sad about all of this is that not only do I feel I have to defend my decision to acquire a Leader Dog with the “you’re not a “normal blind person”, if you use a dog” or “you’re not truly an independent traveler” crowd of the blind/visually impaired community, I feel I also have to defend my decision with Muslims as well.

And to be honest, I’m tired of it, and I’m inclined to say that I will not defend my mobility choices as a blind woman, anymore than I’ll defend my choice to wear hijab, my choice to follow a madhhab, or my choice of tariqa, not to mention my choice to be a Muslim at all. Although having said that, sadly, I probably will fall into the “having to defend yourself” trap at some point.

And sometimes it seems that being blind can clash with being Muslim, the dog guide users vs. taxi cab drivers’ debate comes to mind. I remember one time having to explain to a blind man, non-Muslim, who uses a dog guide, the issues faced by taxi drivers who may consider dogs unclean. And this guy I was speaking to was not buying any of my explanations. And now that I think about it, he probably shouldn’t have. I don’t see why the said taxi drivers couldn’t take some sort of dispensation, or something, if they were in the position where they had to carry dog guides in their cab with them. I mean, it seems that *no Muslim*, unless they follow the Maliki madhhab, are even aware of the opinion of the dog being pure, and even if they are they will talk of the “weakness of the opinion”, etc. However, if people are looking for the “easy way out” on things like hijab, riba, selling alcohol, tobacco, and pork, etc., then why can’t they do the same when it comes to the issue of dog guides.

I also remember a few years ago, asking a blind Muslim sister, who also happens to be a dog guide user, if CAIR had addressed this issue, and the answer, at the time was, no, they had not. And why not? Because I will tell you that if I am ever denied a taxi ride by a Muslim on the basis of my Leader Dog, I’m telling you I will challenge it as far as I can, because there is *no reason* why he/she could not take me in their cabs! None! Surely some sort of education can be done, surely cabbies could carry some sort of mat or blanket to put on the floor where the dog is trained to lay during a car ride, which could be easily washed later or something.

But anyway, my whole point is that as a blind woman, I will not give up my independence, because you just never know when you will need it! Because as my mother said, “there isn’t always going to be someone around to hold your hand and do things for you, so you have to learn to do as much for yourself as you can.”

Another issue that just occurred to me is the issue of going to the masjid. Well, guess I won’t be doing that any time soon, well, once I get the dog anyway. Because during the first 6 months to a year or so, it is not a good idea to leave your dog when going out if at all possible, as they are new, and you and them are still in the bonding process. Perhaps if my masjid was a bit bigger, I could put my dog off to the side on a tie-down chain or something, but being that the women’s area is like the size of a small bedroom or something, I don’t see where I could put the dog where they would be out of the way, and I’d not want to leave them outside or leave them in the car. And this is not to even talk of the other people’s reaction to the dog even being in the masjid in the first place. So *sigh*, another reason *not* to go to the masjid. But anyway.

I would also be curious to know if any imams/masjid leaders have had to address this sort of accommodation or not. But another topic for another day as it is Dhuhr time now. I’d be interested in hearing everyone’s thoughts on this, good or bad, pro or con, positive or negative. I don’t know if Umar Lee is a reader of this blog or not, but if he isn’t, could someone point him in this direction? I’d really like his thoughts on this issue. Has he had a dog guide user in his cab? If so, how did he handle it? Does he take any special precautions when a service dog is in his cab, if he has had to deal with this issue? Would he refuse to take a person with a service dog? If so, why? I’d be interested to hear his thoughts on the issue.

NASA Engineer Helps Train Puppy For Future Leadership Role

Assalamu alaikum, wow, whoever gets this dog, well, it seems they’re going to get a really cool dog! This is very interesting.

ScienceDaily: NASA Engineer Helps Train Puppy For Future Leadership Role

Revisiting Irshad Manji / The Bigger Picture

Assalamu alaikum, while reading Umm Zaid and Aamina’s blogs, they discussed “the bigger picture”, which I took to mean that while many Muslims are focusing on Hijab, women’s rights, etc., that the bigger picture should be to serve Allah and to strive to please Him. I really don’t want to rehash all of that, and take anything away from the points that these two sisters have made, but I was thinking about this when I was deciding whether I would comment further on Irshad Manji’s little documentary that was shown on PBS the other night. And if I commented, what I would say? And here is what occurred to me.

Firstly, Irshad Manji in no way speaks for me as an “ordinary” Muslim. I donot find her thoughts or her pronouncements to be “liberating”, “empowering” or anything like that. I find her to be, in my mind, arrogant, and she comes off as sarcastic, the tone of her voice is so “I am so much better than you are” sounding, that it is like nails on a chalkboard to hear her speak! And to hear her “challenge” people or go on shows and talk about how Islam needs to be “reformed”, etc., just well, I can’t listen to it.

And what is worse, you are dealing with someone who doesn’t believe that she has to pray at the prescribed times, questions whther the Qur’an is the “correct” word of God, etc. Now, I’d never, ever, say that she is not a Muslim, but her beleifs, as I understand them to be, are definitely not orthodox!

However, having said oll of this, I also definitely don’t agree with Muslims issuing death threats against her, threatening to harm her, etc. I mean, from what little knowledge I have, that kind of “vigilantism” is not acceptable. And furhter, it gives more credibility to her “story” of being the “crusading Muslim woman under threat from those evil Muslims who think she should be killed” etc. And then she can get more publicity, seel more books, go on more lectures, etc., proclaiming how “Islam needs to be reformed”. And oh, make more money, too.

But you know what? Now that I have said all of this, another thing occurs to me.
What Irshad Manji does, has nothing to do with me! Yeah, it may irritate me, it may upset me, etc., but you remedy that by not watching/listening to her. And not only this, what good is letting her and people like her upset me going to do me both in this life and the next? Nothing, as far as I can see.

My belief has always been tthat the best way to show “how you are”, whether you are Muslim, blind, whatever, is just to go out there and be who you are. You can talk about how “Muslims are this,” or “Muslims are that”, but unless you are “doing” what you are saying, and backing up your words with actions, then it doesn’t mean anything. As they say, actions speak louder than words.

So while Irshad Manji may be “wrong”, etc., while she may be, well, whatever, she does not have any influence on my daily life, what I do, what I say, etc. To me, it goes back to trying to perfect one’s character, etc. So to me, it’s not so much about “reforming Islam”, as it should be about “reforming yourself”. But it deosn’t seem that many want to concentrate on that aspect of things. And I’d include msyelf in this, it’s just so much easier for me to come on here and rail against Irshad Manji, than it would be to actually toake a look inside myself and honestly try to change the parts of my character that need to be changed to “purify my heart”, etc.

So anyway, there you have it. All I can do is try my best to leave Irshad Manji to do whatever she does, as in the Day of Judgment, I don’t think I’m going to be too concerned about what Irshad Manji is doing or did, I’ll have my hands full just worrying about myself.

America at a Crossroads | PBS

Assalamu alaikum / greetings. Is anyone else watching this? My husband has been watching this for the past few nights, and well, I watched it last night, and tonight, oh goodness, they had Irshad Manji on. Yes the “I can’t show you where I live, I have to put a lock on my mailbox to keep from getting mail bombs” Irshad Manji! I spent most of that segment of the program talking on the phone. Alhamdulillah, becuase what little snippets I did hear, I couldn’t stomach! What I did her her say was something to the affect of “why can’t we question the Qur’an, why should we believe that it is the perfect word of God”. But uh, isn’t that what a Muslim is supposed to believe? And then there was a segment where she was talking to her mother about praying, and she said something about not having to pray, my husband said she said something about praying at prescribed times being an “oppression”. Huh? Oh, I don’t think I can go on. I’m too tired, and there is too much I wanna say, and my fingers can’t go fast enough! So please, someone who can write better than me, who can express themselves more articulately than I can at this moment, and who actually *watched* the whole program, please, please, do a good ctitique of the Irshad Manji segment, or better yet, the program as a whole? Thanks very much in advance. Inshallah, I will come back and write on this later, but for now, browse the link below.

America at a Crossroads | PBS

Hair: A Black Woman’s Rant « Izzy Mo’s Blog

Assalamu alaikum / greetings! Somethin’ about Izzy Mo when she gets on her “rant box”. Another sister that I love to read! I love how her, Umm Zaid, and Aaminah (just to name a few, and yeah, Dictator Princess, too, and if I didn’t mention you, it’s ’cause it’s after 11 at night and my brain is basically mush right now), I just love the way these sisters write/put things! They definitely do a better job than me anyway. I just feel like my writing a lto of the time is just, well, a bunch of rambling, a bit incoherent. And most of the itme, I’m too lazy to do any really drafting/editing/”crafting”, of what I’m writing. I just wanna write it, and put it up for all to see. (oh isn’t that nafsi of me?)

Anyway, enjoy Izzy Mo’s post below! Hair: A Black Woman’s Rant « Izzy Mo’s Blog

Re-Writing the Words of Allah « Writeous Sister Speaks

Assalamu alaikum / greetings, Aamina’s take on the translation of the Qur’an by Lala Backhtiar. BTW, I heard something about this on the BBC a while back, and Bakhtiar was talking about the “4:34″ verse and talked about how it had been “mistranslated” or something, and how “the verse had been interpretted for centuries as to beat lightly”, when really “it should mean to draw away from, that if you get angry, you should leave”, and she talks about how this was more in line with the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because when he got angrywith his wives, “he left the house, he didn’t beat them”.

My thought was like, “yeah whatever, just someone lese trying to “reinterpret” the Qur’an for their own desires/wants/fancies”. Perhaps it was wrong of me to think that, but I just thought “it’s just one of those progressive sort of people that are trying to change Islam to be more in like with “the west”.

w best, but honestly, I don’ think as a woman that I really had a problem with any of the “other” Qur’an translations. I most certainly didn’t need someone who does not have a working knowledge of Arabic, etc., to “redefine” the Qur’an for me!

Not only this, As Umm Zaid says, there are other “more important things” int he Qur’an than the hubbub over whether 434 means “to beat lightly” or “to draw away from”. But anyway…

Re-Writing the Words of Allah « Writeous Sister Speaks

ABC News: Va. Tech Killer Ruled Mentally Ill by Court; Let Go After Hospital Visit

ABC News: Va. Tech Killer Ruled Mentally Ill by Court; Let Go After Hospital Visit