Gov’t Sponsored Witch Doctors Invade Kombo Central Village

Gov’t Sponsored Witch Doctors Invade Kombo Central Village

Moon Bits for Rabi Al-Awwal and some Thoughts

Assalamu alaikum, it seems that all of the moon sighting sites that I follow have the start of Rabi al-awwal as being Friday, February 27, 2009, based on naked eye sighting. The Ummul-qura calendar, for those that use that, has Rabi al-awwal starting Thursday, February 26.

Interesting, though, as the astronomical forecast predicted that the moon would be easily visible in many parts of the US. So it’s as if the reverse of what normally happens, i.e., saying the moon can’t be seen, and then a group of people saying they saw it, has happened. Meaning most if not all of the bevy of sites that I checked felt fairly certain that the moon would be seen and it was not.

I also found it interesting that the Toronto Committee not only includes North America, but the Caribbean as well. Not sure why I never noticed that before. And while this may be strange to some, it makes sense to me as someone who lives in Florida. The Caribbean is practically on my doorstep, and a lot closer to me than, say, California. And I’d not mind taking a sighting from there, especially if I didn’t have the wrestling with my thoughts as I so often do for the start of Ramadan and the Eids.

Start with my community on a day when the moon supposedly wasn’t sighted anywhere within the distance that I, as a follower of the Maliki madhhab, have been taught is binding upon me to follow (as opposed to say, somewhere halfway around the world), and I feel like I could be doing things on the wrong day. Starting/ending on my own, on what is the “correct” day based on a local sighting that might be on a different day than what the rest of my community started on, especially when the rest of my own household is following the rest of the community, and I feel like I’m creating disunity or fitna. And even if no one else knows about it, I still don’t feel right, and it ruins the occasion, whether it’s the start of Ramadan or the day of the Eids. My dear husband, Jazak Allah, ever so calmly tells me that I should do what is best, that all of us are accountable to Allah, and thus we need to follow what we feel is best in our hearts. So if it means that I do things on a different day than him, then that’s OK. But it still takes something out of the celebration or fasting, as the case may be, imho, to have a disunited household.

Perhaps if everyone in my household were doing the same thing, and if we went to a masjid that also did the same thing, even if the rest of the “community” were doing something different, it’d not feel so bad. And it wasn’t so bad when I was single and living with my family, though it was still a little hard for the Eid, as I wanted to attend the Eid prayer, and even though one can pray Eid alone, I can tell you, as someone who’s done that, it feels very lonely.

And it’s hard to make a firm decision, when there seems to be two equally valid opinions that you here, the first being that unity of the community should take precedent and let the “community leaders” take the responsibility if they are wrong, and the second opinion being that you absolutely have to start/end on the correct day, you can’t start Ramadan/Eid on a day when the moon hasn’t been sighted, no matter what the “rest of the community” is doing, and if that means you do Eid alone, then that’s what it means.

However, doesn’t that completely go against the spirit of the Eid? And what of converts who are many times already lonely as it is? Even if we celebrate with the community, after the Eid prayers and the usual food that’s in the masjid, many of us are just left to fend for ourselves while everyone else seems to have their friends, family, etc., that they will go and visit, and whatever traditions they have. And then, if we, on our own, do things on the “correct day”, if it’s different than the community, then we’re definitely going to be alone, especially if , as I noted above, the rest of our household, may have already had their Eid. Talk about feeling lonely!

I’ve tried to discuss this with my husband, why I feel so strongly about this issue, and he sees it as merely an academic issue, a difference of opinion, and he has no problem following the decision of the masjid leaders. I sure wish I was as sure as he was. And I’d like to think that no matter what opinion that anyone settles on, that Allah will understand and not punish us for “doing things on the wrong day”. And I most certainly don’t want to beat a dead horse, however, this really does cause me a lot of consternation, and the only “compromise” I can think of is to start with the community, if there is a sighting close enough for me to follow, and if not, to start on the day that there is a sighting, and just plan on celebrating with the community for the Eid, whether or not the moon was supposedly sighted. And perhaps making up a day afterwords if necessary.

Because last Ramadan, you had a whole group of Muslims swear they sighted the moon for the start of Shawwal, when it supposedly couldn’t have been seen, and it was enough people that, as far as my limited knowledge goes, would have fulfilled the sharia requirement of witnesses needed to start/end the month. And at that time, we all discounted them because “the astronomical forecasts said that it wasn’t possible”. But what of now? The “astronomical forecasts” said the moon was “almost certain to be seen” and it wasn’t.

Reminds me of how the weather forecasts will say one thing, even right up to the minute, and the forecasts will end up being totally wrong, and it happens pretty often. I don’t disagree with using astronomical forecasts as a guide for moon sighting, but I am really starting to think that sightings of credible people shouldn’t be discounted either, just because they don’t mesh with what “astronomical science” tells us they should be. How many times has science been wrong?

Heck, the doctors told my parents I’d not live and yet I’m here. And so it was that “the moon can’t be seen” on a certain day, yet a good number of Muslims swore they saw it.

Perhaps I need to go and re-read Shaykh Hamza’s paper on “cesearean moon births”, because how astronomical knowledge should figure into moon sighting for fiqhi purposes is escaping me. i.e., is the testimony of two, just, upright, male, Muslim witnesses enough, or is it not? And if not, how did the classical scholars deal with astronomy, did they use it in the same way many organizations use it today, to confirm or discount a sighting?

allAfrica.com: Gambia: No Alien Certificate for Bissau Guineans, Declares President Jammeh (Page 1 of 1)

Assalamu alaikum, hmmm, Bissau Guineans aren’t required to have “alien certificates” in the name of “pan Africanism”, yet Pap Saine’s “Gambian citizenship” is being questioned? Pan Africanism my foot!

There’s some ulterior motive behind this, what it is I don’t know at the mment, but I’m sure it’s something.

allAfrica.com: Gambia: No Alien Certificate for Bissau Guineans, Declares President Jammeh (Page 1 of 1)

Mini Laptops

Mini Laptops

Do I Need A New Computer?

Do I Need A New Computer?

Credit union says ‘take off your hat’ | CharlotteObserver.com

Credit union says ‘take off your hat’ | CharlotteObserver.com

A history of abuse preceded Orchard Park beheading : Home: The Buffalo News

A history of abuse preceded Orchard Park beheading : Home: The Buffalo News

Not What I ExPected « Soliloquies of A Stranger

Assalamu alaikum,

Females tell me they love me because I’m tall. They love when I stand over them and look down. They love when I lay them down and my height and body weight dominates them.

Females tell me they love me because I’m pure black. They say they never seen a black man so masculine, so pretty, so beautiful before.

Females say they love my eyes. They’re jet black too. Women claim they find a passion in them so forceful that they’ll do anything I say.

Females tell me they love my body. They beg me for a hug even when there’s nothing between me and them. They want to be captured in my embrace, and press their breasts against my chest.

Some females ask if they can just touch me. Some tremble when my hands touch them. They say they love the muscles in my arms. They surrender when I lift them up. They whine and moan in rapture. Some cry their pleasure. Some shake. Some pee.

Some of ‘em even say they love the way my teeth look in my mouth and how my feet look in my kicks.

Females tell me they love the way I walk, like I’m soon to own the world.

Most females say they love that I’m quiet. Then shiver when I finally talk.

All of the women show me that they love my guns, the fact that I walk with two of them at times. Even the ones who get scared fall in love with their fear of me. Then they come at me even harder.

Some females say I’m too serious, then shield their eyes to hide their feelings from the shine when I finally smile.

I can’t lie, I enjoy the good times that some of these women offer me. But I don’t take them to heart. I know that they don’t really even know me. All the shit that they are in love with is just my style and my looks, all window dressing.

Interesting, especially as later on, he distinguishes the difference between women from here, the US, and women from “back home”. It seems that he’s equating these women here in the US as like the “wholres” he describes back home, and that while the women here love him, he can’t take them seriously. Yet, from what he’s saying, he’s not following his own principles either, because he’s sleeping with these women isn’t he?

Anyway, just a few thoughts, as I couldn’t keep this passage out of my head. Something about it bothered me. And though I’ve tried to describe why, I can’t quite put my finger on it. The book seems intriguing, and I’d like to read it. Wonder if it’s available in an audio format? Or some other accessible media?

Not What I ExPected « Soliloquies of A Stranger

How Lack of Accountability Led to Rise of a Monster « The Writer Formally Known as “Just Another Angry Black Muslim Woman?”

How Lack of Accountability Led to Rise of a Monster « The Writer Formally Known as “Just Another Angry Black Muslim Woman?”

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Woman’s bid to take dog to classes rejected | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register

Assalamu alaikum

“They shouldn’t even ask me if I use a cane or a dog,” Dohmen, a certified nursing assistant, said at the time. “They said that having a dog, I wouldn’t know what blindness was like. But this is my choice. Lilly is my cane.”

The department, represented by the Iowa attorney general, argued that training without assistance of a dog or other aids is the most effective way for the blind to learn new skills.

Now reading that the NFB-influenced training program in Iowa considers a dog guide to be like a sighted guide, because the dog has vision is a new one for me. Of course I was well familiar with the “you’re not as independent if you use a dog” view held by many members of the NFB, if not the leadership as well.

And I’ve been reading some of the email discussion groups, and there was a woman who had a dog guide, who testified on the side of the Iowa Department for the blind, which I think helped give credibility to the state of Iowa’s case. Kinda reminds me of the Muslim women who speak out against hijab or niqab, and of course, their views are given weight because they are “Muslims”, their level of practice notwithstanding.

I’d not attend a training center for the blind myself, as I don’t need the skills training, however, this woman should not be refused services just because she chooses to use a dog guide.

But of course, this is the NFB, the same group whose fought vigorously against accessible currency (and not all blind people have sighted people around or can afford the expensive money identifiers), and says that they only support descriptive video for “useful things”. As if blind people shouldn’t have the right to enjoy movies and TV programs like everyone else. And we should all be busy getting “adjustment to blindness training”, or something else “useful”. And they don’t like audible traffic signals either. It seems to them, a truly independent blind person only uses a cane, doesn’t rely on any visual cues (they make the partially sighted wear eyeshades/blindfolds in their training programs too), and think that you should just be able to listen to the traffic and cross the street on your own wits.

I’d like to know how many of the NFB leadership follow their own guidelines? I’d read somewhere where much of the leadership doesn’t even practice what they preach, using their spouses or other sighted guides to get around, etc. What hypocrites if this is the case.

And they want to tell me that I’m not independent enough because I use a dog guide? This is why I’ll never be a member of the NFB. I’m not a sheep. I don’t have a one size fits all approach to blindness. And I could truly care less if someone uses a dog, cane, sighted guide, thier own vision, whatever. And I very much enjoy descriptive movies, and I could use a few audible crossings in my area too, if it means I don’t get hit by a semi. Allahu Akbar! I tell ya, the fithts we have in the blindness community so mirror the fights I see online in the Muslim community, it’s, well, odd. Hmmm, the manhajj of the NFB… vs the ACB, hmmm…

Woman’s bid to take dog to classes rejected | DesMoinesRegister.com | The Des Moines Register

Illume Magazine – My personal experiences with BridgesTV

Illume Magazine – My personal experiences with BridgesTV

Gambia: A Strange Announcement By Kombo Central Chief (Page 1 of 1)

This week, the Brikama Community Radio (FMB) has been informing the public that some people will be visiting the homes or the residents of Brikama. The public were urged to cooperate with the visitors. According to the announcement purportedly coming from the Chief of Kombo Central and the Kabilo/ward heads, counting of people will take place during the weekend.

allAfrica.com: Gambia: A Strange Announcement By Kombo Central Chief (Page 1 of 1)

Mathew Jallow Petitions British Gov’t. On Abdou Karim Sanneh’s Arrest > The Gambia Echo > The Gambia Echo – Online Newspaper

Assalamu alaikum, what is noteworthy about this post is not that someone petitioned the UK government, but to me, it is the list of names compiled, the names of all of the people who have been totured, detained, murdered, etc., by the Jammeh regime.

Being that The Gambia is such a small place, both population and geographic wise, I can’t imagine that there isn’t a Gambian family or friend who hasn’t been touched by the brutality of the Jammeh dictatorship.

So why isn’t anyone (in The Gambia) doing anything? I guess it’s easy for me to say that someone should do something…

I don’t live in fear of being taken in the dead of night, detained for God knows how long, and possibly tortured, killed, etc. And so I face the dilemma, should I be angry with people for not standing up to Jammeh, or should I be understanding and forbearing in their plight living under a brutal dictatorship?

And this brings me to the question of how “we”, meaning those living outside of countries where freedom of speech and other rights aren’t necessarily guaranteed, should view the people living under such conditions and their seeming passiveness to it all.

Mathew Jallow Petitions British Gov’t. On Abdou Karim Sanneh’s Arrest > The Gambia Echo > The Gambia Echo – Online Newspaper

» Senegal diplomat visits TT

Trinidad and Tobagos Newsday : newsday.co.tt :

Gambian Journalist Abdou Karim Faces Deportaion By UK Government > The Gambia Echo > The Gambia Echo – Online Newspaper

Assalamu alaikum, well, when I first saw this story, and others related to it, online, I thought that they were referring to a different Abdoukarim Sanneh than I’m familiar with through the various online distros.

I was not aware that he was a “journalist”, unless you count publishing a few editorials and opinion pieces a “journalist”. I had thought he was in school working on his doctorate or something, which is why I thought that the online Gambian news sources were talking about a different Abdoukarim, though it appears not.

I didn’t realize that they were talking about the same person from the Gambian lists until he posted a message about the “racist labor government of Gordon Brown” detaining him and initiating deportation proceedings against him.

Interesting…

While I don’t want him to be sent back to The Gambia, for obvious reasons, calling the government that you’re asking to let you stay in the country a “racist” government may not bode well for your case either.

And I’m not saying that I necessarily agree with the UK’s immigration policy. However, if you’re asking someone to let you stay in their country, perhaps you might want to be as nice as you can be and hold your tongue as much as you can.

Gambian Journalist Abdou Karim Faces Deportaion By UK Government > The Gambia Echo > The Gambia Echo – Online Newspaper

Sandra Rose – Man Who Started TV Network To Show Muslims in Positive Light, Beheads Wife

Assalamu alaikum, I was so hoping I’d be able to prove this wrong, considering the below-linked blog’s bias toward Islam and Muslims that I’ve oh-so-faintly detected before. However, apparently, this does seem to be true.

And the irony of it is, well, beyond words.

Sandra Rose – Man Who Started TV Network To Show Muslims in Positive Light, Beheads Wife

1985 « Thedizz’s Blog

1985 « Thedizz’s Blog

allAfrica.com: Gambia: Jamburians Narrate Their Ordeal (Page 1 of 2)

allAfrica.com: Gambia: Jamburians Narrate Their Ordeal (Page 1 of 2)

Breaking News: Gambia on The Brink of Civil War – Chief Tabora Manneh Among Hundreds Arrested, As Jammeh Continues ‘Cleansing Gambia of Witches’

Assalamu alaikum, how this, arresting people for witchcraft, means that The Gambia is on the brink of civil war is unclear to me and the article doesn’t seem to elaborate.

Breaking News: Gambia on The Brink of Civil War – Chief Tabora Manneh Among Hundreds Arrested, As Jammeh Continues ‘Cleansing Gambia of Witches’