Assalamu alaikum, it was a really good day. I watched plenty of college basketball, watched the selection show to see who was going to end up in the tournament starting Thursday (if you don’t count the play-in game on Tuesday). My husband grilled some chicken and made some salad (which went wonderful with the warm day we’d had with highs in the mid-80’s.) And as we (I, my husband, and a friend of my husband’s) were all standing outside, drinking ataya, getting ready to go and pray Maghrib, we saw the shuttle take off, or at least the comtrails of it, though I’m not sure exactly what you call it. We were just standing there, and all of a sudden, my step-daughter yelled “hey what’s that, it’s a fire up there”, and then I mentioned that the Weather Channel had mentioned that the shuttle was getting ready to take off, just a few minutes before I’d come outside. And we all just stood there, enjoying it. There wasn’t a sonic boom, like there is when it lands. A part of me had braced for that, given my dislike of sudden, loud noises. But my husband’s friend mentioned that that usually doesn’t happen during a launch, but only when the shuttle is landing. But this was one of the rare times in my life where I wished I could have seen it. I’m sure it was a really cool thing to see.

Anyway, so I just also got done eating an ice cream drumstick (yum). I’m getting ready to pray Isha, and then I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Get ready for bed I guess. But Alhamdulillah, it was a really good day. And Inshallah, it will be a good week.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Breaking News: Foninkas Flee into Cassamance, as Threat of return of Witch Hunters Looms

Posted by Ginny on March 15, 2009

Breaking News: Foninkas Flee into Cassamance, as Threat of return of Witch Hunters Looms

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Imam Fatty Dismisses Witch Hunting Allegations, Praises President Jammeh

Posted by Ginny on March 14, 2009

Assalamu alaikum, I literally don’t think I have the stomach to read this article, but I just couldn’t pass it up.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Yankuba Jambang, Editor…

Website:
http://www.senegambiane…

Email:
yankuba@senegambianews.com…

The Imam of the State House mosque, Alhaji Abdoulie Fatty has dismissed reports of alleged state sponsored ‘witch hunting’ in which more

Allahu akbar, 1,000 people? The Gambia, as a whole, has a population of 1.5 million (estimated), so 1,000 people? That’s a fairly sizable amount.

Islam, the imam said, does not believe in witches, although this view runs contrary to our traditional beliefs.

But in what many worshipers at the mosque saw as contradictory, was imam Fatty’s acknowledgement that he, too, was at one point in his life, affected by witches. The imam also accordingly admitted that as far as the tradition was concerned, he too believe in witches.

OK, so either you believe in witches or you don’t. Sounds like he’s trying to talk out of both sides of his mouth to me. “this is contrary to Islam, but I’ve been affected by witches too”? How so? I mean, either you believe in witches or you don’t. that “witchcraft” is Islamic or it isn’t.

Abdoulie Fatty ‘assured’ worshipers that president Jammeh will never condone such things, and he urged all Gambians to stop spreading lies against the president.

This statement is almost laughable. If the state military were involved in something that Jammeh didn’t condone or encourage, then it’d just not be going on. The military, such as it is now, is beholden only to Jammeh. If they go and do something that he didn’t actually order himslef, you can bet he’s going to do something about it. So what is Mr. (won’t call him imam) Fatty talking about? Of course, if I had a cushy job at the “state house mosque” built by the very person I’m beholden to for my job, perhaps I’d be talking out of both sides of my mouth. If I were a hypocrite anyway. If this man were a real Muslim, or I should say, if he were living up to Islamic principles, he’d not be speaking like this. It’s these kinds of “religious leaders” that give their respective religious communities a bad name. Because instead of speaking the truth of the evil and un-Islamic nature of this man (Jammeh), they’re praising him, telling others that they should support him, and coddling him. I’m so disgusted, as a Muslim, that I don’t even know what to say. That Saudi education sure didn’t get this imam anywhere as far as “speaking the truth even if against your own family” is concerned.

Imam Fatty Dismisses Witch Hunting Allegations, Praises President Jammeh

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Breaking News: Is The Gambia A Safe Tourist Destination? > The Gambia Echo > The Gambia Echo – Online Newspaper

Posted by Ginny on March 14, 2009

Breaking News: Is The Gambia A Safe Tourist Destination? > The Gambia Echo > The Gambia Echo – Online Newspaper

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

The Fear of Sirens

Posted by Ginny on March 14, 2009

Assalamu alaikum, I have quite a few phobias, lol, thunder and lightning being one of them, buzzing bugs (like bees, wasps, etc.) that could sting you. I’m not afraid of flies. And I’m afraid of sudden loud noises. Examples would be firecrackers, the fire alarm (I lived in utter fear of the fire drill when I was in grade school, even the mention of the word would send me shaking in terror), any kind of sudden loud or buzzing noise (kinda like the buzzer on Family Feud, anyone remember that). And I’m afraid of sirens, like those on police cars and firetrucks. My mom still tells me a story of when I was about 4 years old or so, we were walking somewhere, and an ambulance drove past, sirens blaring. And I started screaming and crying and grabbing on to my mom’s legs. Now, if the siren is off in the distance somewhere, that’s OK, but right up next to me! That’s frightening. It still is, though obviously, as an adult, I don’t freak out like I used to.

So anyway, I went to sleep last night, at like 2 in the morning. I’d re-read The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood in one sitting, and I was utterly exhausted, and still processing the book and its themes and content in my head, trying to decide if I wanted to discuss it on my blog. I’d dropped off to sleep when I was awakened by a blaring, wailing siren! And something about it terrified me! For one thing, I couldn’t figure out why it was so loud. Usually, when sirens like that come so close to my house (I call them sirens rather than police cars or firetrucks because I’m not sure from what kind of vehicle they’re coming from) it’s normally because a group of cars with their obnoxiously loud car stereos are blasting their music, and normally, I’m awake before the sirens get there, and normally, the sirens don’t seem to be that close. However, this time was different. When I was awakened, I didn’t hear any loud music, maybe they’d already left by then, or anything that could warrant such loud noise! But what stood out for me was the utter terror I felt! It wasn’t just merely being startled, or surprised, for a few seconds, I was absolutely terrified! So much so that I felt a surge of blood rush through my arms and hands, they went numb, then a rush of warmth went through them, then numb again before going back to normal! It was weird and kinda scary in and of itself. I remember laying there, in terror, unable to move, and it wasn’t just the wailing, up and down sound of the siren, whoever was pushing the buttons on this thing was also pushing the button for the part of the siren that buzzes? I’m not sure how to describe it, but they pushed that button and just sat on it for like 20 seconds! That was the worst of it, the buzzing part, and I was starting to wonder if these were really police cars, or if they were just pretending, maybe someone had a siren on their car just ’cause they wanted one, just being obnoxious, or maybe they were policemen being obnoxious? And when I was slowly waking up and hearing the sirens, they sounded like they were coming right for my house, and for a few seconds, it sounded like there was not only one of them but two! Though I couldn’t figure out if that was because of the echo or if it was actually two of them. So for a few brief seconds, I hear the sound of sirens, coming straight for my house, it seems, and then they sit there, right in front of my house, buzzing and wailing, and it’s so loud! And I’m feeling so scared, I almost wanted to cry!

Then, as I more fully awaken, I start feeling annoyed, why don’t they just shut the thing off already! And angry with myself for being so terrified. Then finally it stops, and I’m taking a few deep breaths to steady myself. I reach out and touch my husband’s arm, also to calm myself. And after a few minutes, I start to relax and fall back to sleep. I look at the time, it’s 3:51 in the morning. I notice this racket hasn’t seemed to wake up Chloe, I hear her stir and stretch herself and sigh, as she sleeps right beside my bed. I’m glad of this. Because this sorta thing can really scare a dog, worse than a person. I hear some dogs howling in the distance sometimes when a siren comes by, as for many dogs, it does actually hurt their ears. Chloe, though, Mashallah, seems unphased by it. My husband then turns to me and asks what time it is, I wonder if the noise has woke him up too, but I’m too sleepy to ask. I tell him the time and then start to fall back to sleep.

Now that I’m fully awake and writing about this, I’m still trying to figure out what was so scary about the whole thing. Was it because I’d just finished reading the book I’d been reading? Which is kinda enough to put one in a dark and scary mood in the first place. Was it because I was so suddenly awakened? I’m not sure. But a part of me feels silly, immature, like I was acting like a child. But all I can tell you was that the terror of that few seconds, before my brain could process that the sirens had nothing to do with me and that they were probably hear to get all of the loud music players off the street, was real, and I can’t remember when I was really scared like that!

And another thing that’s occurred to me is I’m wondering, did I think about Allah in any of this, did I ask for His protection, did I thank Him when I realized that there was nothing wrong? And I can’t remember. I’m sure I did, I couldn’t imagine not doing that. But I can’t remember nonetheless and that kinda bothers me just a little. Which gives me pause. What if I didn’t?

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »