tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-322121612024-03-14T03:05:54.566-04:00Shaalom 2 Salaam: A Muslimah's Journey Along the Way From Judaism to IslamWritings, Articles of Interest, Photography, Digital Art, Photo Essays, and Other Musings -
IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE MOST MERCIFUL - Copyright © 2006-2021, S. E. Jihad Levine,
All Rights ReservedSafiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.comBlogger380125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-18464811284934500442022-09-26T14:27:00.000-04:002022-09-26T14:27:34.448-04:00Goodbye Google/Blogger<p>Once I get a new site/host (I'm still researching), I will InshaAllaah pin a public post to my Facebook page letting you know where I've gone off to, so if you're interested, you can follow me there. </p><p>I'm on Facebook as:</p><p>"S. E. Jihad Levine" I wanted to make a post here because I only have a few more days here before Google locks me out of this site for non-payment. After that, I won't be able to make any more posts.</p><p>https://www.facebook.com/jihadlevine</p>Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-23915051009602239412022-09-26T07:52:00.003-04:002022-09-26T07:53:34.742-04:00<p> Okay, I can’t get into the Admin Console to pay for this site. I’ve tried every #($* thing. My last nerve is shot. This is good#($bye for this site. I shall try another platform.</p><p><br /></p><p>Any suggestions, Friends, for another Platform? And not Wordpress. Cost is not much of a factor. Ease of use is.</p><p><br /></p><p>Eh !!!!!!! </p>Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-77470882534033755012021-07-11T09:03:00.000-04:002021-07-11T09:03:28.681-04:00<p> As Salaamu Alaikum and Greetings of Peace!</p><p> Well, it's been a long time! And in this day and age of social media, Facebook, Twitter, etc., few folks are blogging anymore. But ... here I still am. What have I been doing all this time since I haven't been able to "get into" my site?!</p><p> Four years ago, I retired from my full-time position as Muslim Chaplain with the PA Department of Corrections (DOC). It was time. My health, my nerves, and my age hinted to me that it was time to move on. I still, however, have contact with incarcerated women and girls.</p><p> I have correspondence privileges with a handful of ladies that I was close with when I worked at my institution. To this day, we write back and worth practically daily. Since I left, the ladies now have email, and they have tablets! Wow! The price of sending an email is cheaper than a postage stamp.</p><p> I'm also a volunteer Muslim Chaplain at a residential facility for juvenile girls. When they have Muslim girls, I go there once a week, for an hour, and it's not a hardship on my health like working at the DOC was. I often get as few as one young Muslimah, and as many as 3-4. Most of the focus is working on teaching the girls how to make salah, and how to pray the al-Fatihah properly. It's very rewarding. </p><p> Since I left "paying" work, I also started "Project Hurriyyah," (Project Freedom) which helps Muslim woman and girls who are incarcerated/on parole/probation. We publish a monthly newsletter which we distribute to a few facilities, and it's put together by a fabulous sister from Canada who would rather remain anonymous, but Alhamdulillah, this newsletter would not be possible without her. You can go to our Facebook page, same name, "Project Hurriyyah," and there's an archive of our newsletters there. Check them out!</p><p> Other than that, I'm still involved with our masjid Sunday school, however, I'm no longer the principal, am now "just" an Arabic teacher. Loving it! Less stress. Last year, for the first time since starting our school in 2004, we were not open due to Covid, but we are now getting ready to re-open for September. Ironic, but while trying to access the school's website, I actually came across this here blog! Now: if only I could get into the old school website to delete it! I had to re-create a whole new school website. Eh, all in all, I'm satisfied: I now can get into my own blog here, and the school has a new site on Wordpress. I HATE Google: they eat up everything.</p><p> Other than that, I am taking it easy, enjoying the life of a retired person, still gardening, making jewelry, making photographs, and basically doing what I want, when I want. Little pressure. </p><p> OH! The most important thing! I have been attending Bucknell University since retirement as an audit student. How can I forget that! Since I already have a college degree, don't intend to work anymore, I don't care about the credentials, credits, etc., so I'm auditing. It's very inexpensive, and no pressure. I've taken enough credits at this point to be a college sophomore ha ha. This semester, Fall, I'm taking two courses, one in Chinese Women's Literature, and the other The Russian short story. Am so excited. </p><p> Okay, enough for now. Tell me what you've been up to. I "think" I'm ready to complete my post, "Am I Still Jewish" for those of you who remember.</p><p>MaSalaame and Peace</p><p>Safiyyah </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-62079267200335233232021-06-29T10:27:00.002-04:002021-06-29T10:27:48.165-04:00<p> As Salaamu Alaikum and Hello! WOW! Since 2015 I've been trying to "get into" this site!! Now, through an error trying to get into another one of my sites, I've landed here. Well, Masha Allaah! Shall come back InshaAllaah after I get into the other one. </p>Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-10903146328413428962015-08-20T16:44:00.002-04:002015-08-20T16:44:50.710-04:00SHE PUT SOME MAKEUP ON IT<br />
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<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">CONTENT
WARNING</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>#Triggers #Graphic Language #Raw #Graphic
Sexual Language #Trigger Warning #Rape <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 18.0pt;">“…we must also remember
that we need to leave the darkness in order to find one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the fight against injustice, it helps to
hear truths about women’s personal lives.”</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">(</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Mona Eltahawy,
Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Introduction</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">In
this fabulous book (go buy it and read it!!), Mona Eltahawy shares about how a
group of women in Cairo had set up an open mic for sharing their stories in a
garden of an arts gallery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">One
young woman took the mic and said to the women present, “I can’t tell you this
while facing you so I’m going to turn around and then share my story.” (p. 177)
Then the young woman, with her back to the others, shared how she was sexually
abused by a cleric at age 11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">When
I wrote the initial draft of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She Put Some
Makeup On It</i>, the story that follows this introduction, it had been about
35 years since I was brutalized and raped by a Houston businessman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">I
didn’t have the courage then to tell the world what happened to me, to come
out, to put my name on my own story. But much has happened, and I’m now ready
to give my story a home in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">my</i>
personal garden – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shaalom2Salaam</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">One
of the factors that made it so difficult for me to stand up and count myself
among the survivors of rape was that I internalized guilt for what happened to
me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because my rapist didn’t come through my
bedroom window in the middle of the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My rapist didn’t pop out of the bushes, or grab me while I was walking
alone to my vehicle in a parking garage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">My
rapist invited me to my nightmare, and I went willingly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">At
first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">But,
I always knew somewhere deep inside that it isn’t okay for a man to beat up a
woman and then fuck her - no matter what the circumstances of his relationship
with her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">It
wasn’t until decades after my own rape, when I heard feminists discuss terms
like “date rape,” “stranger rape,” and “marital rape,” did I begin to
understand what happened to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">And
it took a few more years and some counseling for me to process that I didn’t
deserve what happened to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Even
though I’ve disclosed to a few other women from time to time that I was raped
in the past, I never shared the details with anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stuffed them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">It’s
time to tell exactly what happened to me, to share the details.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also deserve to tell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">During
the writing of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">She Put Some Makeup On It</i>,
“my” voice surfaced in the third-person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I decided to leave the manuscript just like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I first put it all down to computer
screen, it was easier to write as if it all had happened to someone else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">But
it happened to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">So
I hope you don’t mind if I share my story with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">my back to you</i> by not changing my draft to a first-person account.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 5.0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">She Put
Some Makeup On It</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">
is my Truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My attempt to leave the
darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Hope that Others find
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That I find Others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 28.0pt;">She
Put Some Makeup On It<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By
S. E. Jihad Levine, Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">For
the most part she forgot about it, refused to think about it, stuffed it, was
in “denial” as therapists would claim, mentally put it away somewhere, but
every so often it would surface, demand to be noticed, tug at her conscious
mind, like now for instance, when night after night, she watches woman after
woman appear on her television screen describing how Bill Cosby “allegedly” drugged
and raped them, how many of them suffered in silence for decades, and how, when
many did break the silence, they were judged and doubted, or outright accused
of telling lies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">She
remembered that time in Houston, Texas, waaaay back in the day, more than three
decades or so actually, when she was a dancer in a gentleman’s club, and this
handsome man used to come in every night, accompanied by this equally beautiful
woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">The
couple would watch her dance and tip her nicely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Made her wonder … didn’t see many couples in
clubs like this, usually only saw men - young ones, old ones, in-between ones,
businessmen, college students, men on shore leave, tech workers, oil rig
workers, undercover cops, guys looking for a trick, guys just fantasizing, all
kinds of men, but rarely young couples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe they were looking for a ménage-trois partner? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">One
evening the man came into the club without the lady.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He arrived early, bought the dancer drinks
all night, and graced her with lots of big tips.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">At
the end of the evening, he asked to take her home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where
was the woman he was usually with?</i> she momentarily wondered, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and who was she in his life anyhow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did they break up, and now he was interested
in her?</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">No
matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She decided not to ask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was definitely interested in him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">When
they got to his place, she was surprised to see there were about 10 guys
playing cards around a large round table in a smoky dining room in the middle
of a well-furnished townhouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took
her hand and swiftly led her upstairs to one of the bedrooms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">They
relaxed fully clothed on a king-sized bed, and he, lying on his back, and her
propped up on an elbow, exchanged stories of how they had come to arrive in
Houston, sharing their dreams for the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He described his start-up business and claimed that this would be the
year he would finally make a “go” with his idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While they were talking, she slipped off her
silver spiked heels, and they drank Jack Daniels “Black” whiskey and smoked
joints.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Feeling
drunk and high, in a haze of sweet marijuana smoke, they began to softly kiss
and slowly undress each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She,
feeling off guard from all the intimate sharing, began to naively think that
maybe this could <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">go somewhere</i>, that
maybe he actually liked her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">When
they started to make love though all her fantasies about him were shattered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Once
her panties were off and he became excited, he grabbed her arms so hard that
they hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He rammed himself into her,
and fucked her so hard that she thought her skinny hips would fracture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Squeezed and twisted her tiny tits until she
thought they would snap off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pain
was incredible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bit her lips and face
until blood trickled down the sides of her mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blood!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was bleeding!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">“No,
no!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wait, stop!” she cried out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he wouldn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Instead
he attempted to go down on her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More
biting, pinching, cracked fingernails …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">In
the middle of this nightmare, one of the card players barged into the bedroom,
went to the small closet, and removed a pillow and blanket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">She
struggled to cover herself up, but her “lover,” who didn’t seem to notice they
had company, kept trying to force her legs back open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Before
leaving the room, the card player paused and glanced at the pitiful sight on
the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His eyes and hers locked for a
second, and she wasn’t sure if he was thinking to join in or to help her, but
all he did was throw his head back, let out a weird laugh, and leave the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Oh my God</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was this HIS house?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His room?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What had she gotten herself into?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">After
the business man finished and rolled off her, he passed out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While he was snoring loud enough to bring the
walls down, she got dressed, and plotted a way to escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she was still a little drunk and
disoriented, didn’t know what part of town he’d brought her to, and realized
that she’d left her stuff, including her purse and money back at the club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this happened in the days before the
advent of cell phones or anything like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Then
there was the matter of the card players downstairs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">He
came to and wanted to fuck again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
she said “no,” that she had to leave and get back to the club, he jumped on
her, ripped her dress, and began to “beat her like a man” as the saying goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He punched her in the face so hard that she
thought she was going to pass out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
head was spinning, and her body went numb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">At
that moment her mind kicked into survival mode.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She thought about the card players downstairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could hear them making noises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If she started to scream would one or more of
them come upstairs to help her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or to
join in?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">She
went limp, surrendered to rape … to stay alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Miraculously,
he offered to drive her “home” when he was done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">That
morning, she went to the free clinic for medical treatment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She explained to the staff that she wanted
help in reporting the rape to the authorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">After
tending to her injuries, the doctor sat her down for a “talk.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He advised against reporting the businessman
to the authorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why, after
everything she had been through, did she also want to put herself through that,
he wanted to know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, he is a
respected member of society, and she is a dancer in a gentleman’ club.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">“No
offense, dear, but how would you be able to prove anything?” the doctor
offered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Surely the card players would
be witnesses for his side.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Yes,
she should forget about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forget about
it, and learn a lesson from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t
pick up strangers and go home with them in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She couldn’t believe what he was
suggesting:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that she merely had a bad
experience with rough sex and even if she could get someone to take her case,
it would practically be impossible to get a jury to believe that what happened to
her was rape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">“Doctor!”
she pleaded with him, “Yes, I did go with him and agree to have sex with him
the first time, yes, but the second time?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">I
told him <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">no</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said I wanted to leave, and asked him to
take me home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then he beat me up and
took it anyhow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m begging you to help
me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">She
began to sob.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">The
doctor just looked at her with sad eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was getting nowhere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">What
did she do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What could she do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was trash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She deserved it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn’t she willing go to the apartment with
the guy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now she was crying foul?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did she have a right to justice?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">She
had so many feelings she couldn’t identify them all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She went home, got real high, put some makeup
on her facial injuries, and went to work at the club that night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">The other dancers and the club manager stared at her, but no one asked what
happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t the first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">She
never saw her rapist again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and his
lady never returned to the club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
blocked out his name and his place of employment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She blocked it all out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">To
this day, it’s tucked away somewhere deep inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most days it stays there … most days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe some day she’ll tell someone exactly
what happened to her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Truth
is the most beautiful cosmetic!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<br /></div>
Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-54772594341078827062015-01-06T15:29:00.000-05:002015-01-06T15:29:21.288-05:00KIDSby S. E. Jihad Levine (All Rights Reserved)<br />
<br />
As the snow gently falls outside,<br />
covering my porch steps and sidewalk,<br />
I put on my hijab, jacket, and gloves,<br />
preparing to go outside to shovel and salt.<br />
<br />
Memories flood my vision from<br />
long long ago,<br />
when I was a kid<br />
on a day just like this one,<br />
when the neighborhood would be<br />
crawling with kids.<br />
<br />
We raced from house to house,<br />
snow shovels slung over our small shoulders,<br />
younger brothers and sisters trailing behind us,<br />
trying to keep up,<br />
lugging little bags of salt.<br />
<br />
We kids knocked on every door in<br />
the neighborhood<br />
trying to get business,<br />
even undercutting the<br />
kids behind us<br />
by as low as a nickel.<br />
Ah, the competition!<br />
What businessmen and<br />
businesswomen<br />
we were learning to be!<br />
<br />
Moms, dads, and older folks<br />
were waiting for us.<br />
Adults shoveling their own snow<br />
or snow blowers<br />
or snow tractors<br />
in those days<br />
were unheard of.<br />
Shoveling sidewalks was a kid's job.<br />
Even the big kids would take on the<br />
challenge of clearing driveways.<br />
<br />
There were also fringe benefits to<br />
the job of<br />
shoveling snow.<br />
After we were done and our<br />
pay was handed to us, often<br />
we were given hot chocolate or<br />
warm cookies!<br />
<br />
Oh ... when I was a kid.<br />
<br />
When all we wanted for Hanukkah<br />
or Christmas<br />
was a snow shovel<br />
so we could earn our own<br />
money to buy those<br />
toys and things our parents<br />
wouldn't or couldn't buy or get for us.<br />
<br />
Shoveling snow was the way ...<br />
<br />
I smile, remembering,<br />
as I go out and start shoveling.<br />
Not a kid outside in the neighborhood<br />
even though there's no school today.<br />
No kids out sled riding,<br />
Making snow men<br />
or snow angels,<br />
no snowball fights ...<br />
<br />
Oh wait, there's a kid!<br />
My neighbor's kid,<br />
watching me shovel my walk<br />
through the parted curtains of his<br />
living room window,<br />
the glare of the family's big screen TV<br />
glows behind him.<br />
I wave to him, but<br />
he quickly disappears when he<br />
realizes that he's been seen.Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-57152840534393122862014-06-02T21:10:00.000-04:002014-06-02T21:10:32.489-04:00Bridgeway, Inc. - Community Empowerment Center(All Images Copyright, 2014, S. E. Jihad Levine, All Rights Reserved - Exclusive Permission to Use Images Only Given to Bridgeway, Inc. and Clayton (Brother Abdul-Wakeel Shabazz) Morrison)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.shaalom2salaam.com/2014/05/tarif-wooden.html" target="_blank">Also on the corner of 18th and Ontario</a> in North Philadelphia, PA, on Ontario Street, is another mural obituary. This one belongs to Bridgeway, Inc., which is a community based empowerment center.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXzFTuNPoF_0UsypGjV0fyGw1SipHo16dJXiu2UhCidgzI-_fXCG-QfLsCbJY_iYHKUFDPNZ4ToVRt5yzJ2x0C-mnOjEeXR4DJkh97DzROdzAtE6PVacgv4UJVdWGO17GNUWM/s1600/Bridgeway1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOXzFTuNPoF_0UsypGjV0fyGw1SipHo16dJXiu2UhCidgzI-_fXCG-QfLsCbJY_iYHKUFDPNZ4ToVRt5yzJ2x0C-mnOjEeXR4DJkh97DzROdzAtE6PVacgv4UJVdWGO17GNUWM/s1600/Bridgeway1.jpg" height="320" width="289" /></a></div>
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Bridgeway has been around since 1975. It was started by its current executive director, Emily Rollins, who is a native of the Tioga/Nicetown area. In the 1960s, she witnessed corporations, small businesses, and educational services leave her neighborhood, and they were replaced by violence, drugs, and crime. Ms. Rollins started Bridgeway out of her home on 1722 West Ontario Street, and since then, Bridgeway has service over 5,000 people a year from her very doorstep.<br />
<br />
Bridgeway provides food, transitional housing, educational, and cultural programs to this under-served community. Ms. Rollins, now in her 80s, still answers her door and answers the call of her community. she is also helped by a large group of dedicated volunteers that make it possible for Ms. Rollins and her Deputy Director, Yvonne Hughes, to operate Bridgeway. Ms. Hughes is an ordained minister and President of SCOPE Education Services. (info taken from Bridgeway's website)<br />
<br />
As I was photographing Bridgeway's mural, their Vice President, Clayton (Brother Abdul-Wakeel Shabazz) Morrison stopped by to give me salaams and to chat with me. It was great spending some time with him and finding out about the mural and the work that Bridgeway does.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27q3TluaJMVf_nxP8gglWoS3udAY-367TcQs3XkkzYatGgG9-N0P4fLFMUfnCLHqRtI_P1znhKwypoT9J44LCa4cFKY_GGZ24VhivIgjOkXNQ85TjOjMDSR1RD9reEiNxjQtC/s1600/Bridgeway5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27q3TluaJMVf_nxP8gglWoS3udAY-367TcQs3XkkzYatGgG9-N0P4fLFMUfnCLHqRtI_P1znhKwypoT9J44LCa4cFKY_GGZ24VhivIgjOkXNQ85TjOjMDSR1RD9reEiNxjQtC/s1600/Bridgeway5.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbupsZh12oRLXjsvOtNJOEBAywtkaxslghRjglKiJrkeWhmdd6xZ0p7xeQqX4yik-2mHF_RCjO-RAm3rxvFccxerd9sseDqiQ288K0aW2z8_b6I2OLKCHYhUQwGYZkFo4Lw8Ut/s1600/Bridgeway1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbupsZh12oRLXjsvOtNJOEBAywtkaxslghRjglKiJrkeWhmdd6xZ0p7xeQqX4yik-2mHF_RCjO-RAm3rxvFccxerd9sseDqiQ288K0aW2z8_b6I2OLKCHYhUQwGYZkFo4Lw8Ut/s1600/Bridgeway1a.jpg" height="320" width="275" /></a></div>
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<br />
The mural is called "The Wall of Wonder," and is dedicated to those "gone but not forgotten" in community service to Bridgeway and the community.<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSoIiXELzHVi8by9ezuA4dKGZ7FaYjXSPvsRZXKBJvkSQHx2gMpb7FzVFXf0ikW-n8mJZE-e5TxEu0ZCsaemhvZr6ia18-Xl5w-WnmIjVoU_iViP61nLY34O7v1IR3Y0_hqIsA/s1600/Bridgeway+4a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSoIiXELzHVi8by9ezuA4dKGZ7FaYjXSPvsRZXKBJvkSQHx2gMpb7FzVFXf0ikW-n8mJZE-e5TxEu0ZCsaemhvZr6ia18-Xl5w-WnmIjVoU_iViP61nLY34O7v1IR3Y0_hqIsA/s1600/Bridgeway+4a.jpg" height="225" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's a beautiful tribute, and shows how hard people are working to create a better world and opportunities for the neighborhood.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EMV4W_HIW0K0YOQsLYuKx4kar-pYay_V7Q_dJ2uo7txDAmXL224IDtjJ7HKrzU66CnBhDZZXxMDc0FZuVo77PlOQee6qxOJyEy1EmKLb9FOCPqt-gM0F3D7P0B5CwYDovNjp/s1600/Bridgeway4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EMV4W_HIW0K0YOQsLYuKx4kar-pYay_V7Q_dJ2uo7txDAmXL224IDtjJ7HKrzU66CnBhDZZXxMDc0FZuVo77PlOQee6qxOJyEy1EmKLb9FOCPqt-gM0F3D7P0B5CwYDovNjp/s1600/Bridgeway4.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Further details about Bridgeway's wonderful services can be obtained from <a href="http://bridgewayinc.yolasite.com/" target="_blank">their website</a>, or you can stop by at the Center at 1722/1800 W. Ontario Street. Their phone number is 215-226-1983.Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-24634904870340405932014-05-27T11:07:00.000-04:002014-05-27T11:07:33.568-04:00Tarif Wooden<br />
(Note: All Images Copyright 2014 S. E. Jihad Levine, All Rights Reserved)<br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/multimedia/15781747.html" target="_blank">Philadelphia, PA Police Department records</a>, 350 persons were murdered in the City of Philadelphia in the year of 2003.<br />
<br />
A few days before his 22nd birthday, on November 21, 2003, Tarif Wooden became Philadelphia's 315th homicide victim.<br />
<br />
Police records state that Tarif died from a gunshot wound, and the official motive for his murder is simply listed as "drugs." <br />
<br />
On the corner of 18th and Ontario in North Philly, there's a beautiful mural dedicated to the memory of Tarif Wooden. The mural shows a very young African-American man as he looked before somebody's gun brought him down in the prime of his life. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj8NX2JXcvtBhPEEBZoMF38pZ2Ju4vG1eoiVR3ropx0-fSKRizG-3YsO0J0SCqMo6W3z_bXPtOXGpflXGeiaxFdMogdcSd4gE4HeX5IkB94wpoDqZF-lYXWYFzbfUIx2XonVFJ/s1600/tarif1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj8NX2JXcvtBhPEEBZoMF38pZ2Ju4vG1eoiVR3ropx0-fSKRizG-3YsO0J0SCqMo6W3z_bXPtOXGpflXGeiaxFdMogdcSd4gE4HeX5IkB94wpoDqZF-lYXWYFzbfUIx2XonVFJ/s1600/tarif1a.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></div>
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Who knows what Tarif Wooden could have become or accomplished in this life had he not been murdered, or who he might have turned out to be had he straightened his life out before his lifestyle appears to have taken him out? <br />
<br />
What is clear, for sure, is that Tarif Wooden had a family who loved him.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIPTDM7ChipZc78_hDbjZ3zOgwrmhVv9LXSvP3gkLecXuOn2jgpFEu1asOXB8B5wUjaMeYSkdkXQpHCfytlmzgbgssjTxVAWjQjoLIS2TiHsGLa36X7P4J96mFsEXP_gTb8F8/s1600/tarif3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlIPTDM7ChipZc78_hDbjZ3zOgwrmhVv9LXSvP3gkLecXuOn2jgpFEu1asOXB8B5wUjaMeYSkdkXQpHCfytlmzgbgssjTxVAWjQjoLIS2TiHsGLa36X7P4J96mFsEXP_gTb8F8/s1600/tarif3.jpg" height="116" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
And friends who loved and cared about him.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuPJvQPLiNSOjUjod1_uFmIYw0OQ2aLP0X0SUxvVmcgYRHBR5OTyrnWoa2NgIKBxfm7D2wWMHaVpsBK72Lg4DlqXLDaDgHzE22VxRPtywUKS4ogoC9ToYIowDNMiklyHgCK73F/s1600/tarif5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuPJvQPLiNSOjUjod1_uFmIYw0OQ2aLP0X0SUxvVmcgYRHBR5OTyrnWoa2NgIKBxfm7D2wWMHaVpsBK72Lg4DlqXLDaDgHzE22VxRPtywUKS4ogoC9ToYIowDNMiklyHgCK73F/s1600/tarif5.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Looks like somebody named "Chick," not wanting to be left out, added his/her name later on with some black paint.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijrWCEXQr1goz4Eg2vL1T_C4MFwEF1V4r3KP1ERxK9Bz6FExHGAOGsx9NPLnmxmududkRawvAYim4zdb_0rQ3hIwuSQvahRCBpOXVyKMlPfsGm8l9hZStcvl2dd0TAri8PXVv/s1600/tarif6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijrWCEXQr1goz4Eg2vL1T_C4MFwEF1V4r3KP1ERxK9Bz6FExHGAOGsx9NPLnmxmududkRawvAYim4zdb_0rQ3hIwuSQvahRCBpOXVyKMlPfsGm8l9hZStcvl2dd0TAri8PXVv/s1600/tarif6.jpg" height="320" width="309" /></a></div>
<br />
As I photograph Tarif's mural, folks walk by, slow down, and reflect on his memory.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11hVdbmumQfskC95IyiRe3WKPNUgjxf3IwfgCXI2oQabhYhHJl0HkyLiNcSb4jlkMCunYFVgMBl_lz0Reu9oPyc1EnJcWcUVfPb1P1WTmJWuzYR2oPUspjpDJNijgg2JiEpNr/s1600/tarif7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg11hVdbmumQfskC95IyiRe3WKPNUgjxf3IwfgCXI2oQabhYhHJl0HkyLiNcSb4jlkMCunYFVgMBl_lz0Reu9oPyc1EnJcWcUVfPb1P1WTmJWuzYR2oPUspjpDJNijgg2JiEpNr/s1600/tarif7.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The young man stops. Perhaps to offer his respects? Maybe he knew Tarif? <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOiNDCb0ldMIY3yPRQyv-uNIBKoPOvDKV2iOkPIdsjb0qzxtDY9_SDgeSTSc_hwHI-jImGrZHh3DEyf5OudOmugjHypJVNG8xHdHNSSeYRIjtrqLsXHz5749ZLE-ANv1oLahz/s1600/tarif8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOiNDCb0ldMIY3yPRQyv-uNIBKoPOvDKV2iOkPIdsjb0qzxtDY9_SDgeSTSc_hwHI-jImGrZHh3DEyf5OudOmugjHypJVNG8xHdHNSSeYRIjtrqLsXHz5749ZLE-ANv1oLahz/s1600/tarif8.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
One things is clear: the folks in this neighborhood will never forget Tarif Wooden.<br />
<br />
People often forget that although some young men like Tarif (if what they claim about him is true) may have been in the "lifestyle" or that they themselves may have victimized others -- in the end, they are victims. Victims of violence.<br />
<br />
Despite it all, no one deserves to be murdered.<br />
<br />
No mother, grandmother, deserves to grieve for a child cut down too soon, before he or she even gets a chance to live life to its fullest potential. <br />
<br />
Everyone deserves a chance to figure it out. <br />
<br />
Tarif Wooden never got a chance to figure it out. He was robbed. He was murdered and robbed.<br />
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Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-36524870436604079622013-11-08T18:05:00.001-05:002013-11-08T18:05:14.592-05:00NAPHOPOMO - DAY 8NOVEMBER 8, 2013<div><br></div><div>Have Kim will travel ...</div><div><br></div><div>(Click on image to see better)<br><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtlx4OdRBPNArjkJB8NDVBFYGcgX-uUkxGvC_Vock3slq8iWARfqFEUcJQTZ5mmVSuRlt-KJPpmHXD_yIIzEozbnt814GbyksdFa6dFwYmKtFsjS8FRRcQQ7oPzqJXwN29tfnq/s640/blogger-image--1969687116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtlx4OdRBPNArjkJB8NDVBFYGcgX-uUkxGvC_Vock3slq8iWARfqFEUcJQTZ5mmVSuRlt-KJPpmHXD_yIIzEozbnt814GbyksdFa6dFwYmKtFsjS8FRRcQQ7oPzqJXwN29tfnq/s640/blogger-image--1969687116.jpg"></a></div><br></div></div>Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-70510613109255054102013-11-07T19:01:00.001-05:002013-11-07T19:01:53.904-05:00NAPHOPOMO - DAY 7November 7, 2013<div><br></div><div>No wudu here!!! Ladies bathroom at Penn State University, Main Campus, State College, PA, Pasquerilla Spiritual Center, Eisenhower Chapel</div><div><br></div><div>(Click image to see better)</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAD5kxQH7020wiPHM47S0JSdS7kAB5UGI0rvhw1insQW4bDPSAebh2LLQONGt3NJtRliVkgQZA6l-jgRnjqNaxgiGBuHPV8dtjqcgWCpNUwRmHOqHTE52IvIVylFlDKExxY6W/s640/blogger-image-1665110987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAD5kxQH7020wiPHM47S0JSdS7kAB5UGI0rvhw1insQW4bDPSAebh2LLQONGt3NJtRliVkgQZA6l-jgRnjqNaxgiGBuHPV8dtjqcgWCpNUwRmHOqHTE52IvIVylFlDKExxY6W/s640/blogger-image-1665110987.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div>Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-27673900473335407122013-11-06T15:38:00.001-05:002013-11-06T15:40:42.377-05:00NAPHOPOMO - DAY 6NOVEMBER 6, 2013<div><br></div><div>My plan for these piles of leaves: scoop them up in the wheelbarrow and put them into my garden. It's fenced in, so they won't blow away. The little critters will munch them into mulch over the winter to nourish my garden soil :)</div><div><br></div><div>(Click on image to see it better)</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fXZxtx5Oqg318ez_WjkEJggNJQqaPCb6RW4y1cxSAQObdZvyyvmch7LL8gxkM1RbYystu2vgueYnEsga7CGzi7ihTIEl0gxEeva8R1oBmPtbMJRsKuKiXydLz-aJPYPoO81D/s640/blogger-image--2113064784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fXZxtx5Oqg318ez_WjkEJggNJQqaPCb6RW4y1cxSAQObdZvyyvmch7LL8gxkM1RbYystu2vgueYnEsga7CGzi7ihTIEl0gxEeva8R1oBmPtbMJRsKuKiXydLz-aJPYPoO81D/s640/blogger-image--2113064784.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-63618977372678569052013-11-05T16:46:00.001-05:002013-11-05T16:49:32.384-05:00NAPHOPOMO - DAY 5November 5, 2013<div><br></div><div>At the Post & Lintel Dance Studio, Selinsgrove, PA</div><div><br></div><div>(Click photo to see better)</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOivROQTExDtiBVymaw_42I5SwW5uUTS80bzqrrUAiexnBbsjGr9yw2S7W0UUoOGDJiBe5ITLL7ZzDbPe5Tu1-GacLh9CfCsPUhgtD0d9Ff56h8Vk9gYGIa1ABIWurVwqih3i/s640/blogger-image--1044292635.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOivROQTExDtiBVymaw_42I5SwW5uUTS80bzqrrUAiexnBbsjGr9yw2S7W0UUoOGDJiBe5ITLL7ZzDbPe5Tu1-GacLh9CfCsPUhgtD0d9Ff56h8Vk9gYGIa1ABIWurVwqih3i/s640/blogger-image--1044292635.jpg"></a></div><br></div>Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-17650713235861223512013-11-04T07:41:00.001-05:002013-11-04T07:45:10.447-05:00NAPHOPOMO - DAY 4NOVEMBER 4, 2013 - DAY 4<br />
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Monday, Monday ... this guy has the life of Riley. He'll probably lie here until lunch is called!</div>
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Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-65740369369584559242013-11-03T15:33:00.001-05:002013-11-03T15:37:10.418-05:00NAPHOPOMO - DAY 3November 3, 2013<br />
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My grandmother's necklace ...<br />
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Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-27364006642597947072013-11-02T17:29:00.000-04:002013-11-02T17:29:16.825-04:00NAPHOPOMO National Photo Posting MonthHello Folks!<br />
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Read over at Chookooloonks' blog that November is National Photo Posting Month, or NAPHOPOMO. <br />
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<a href="http://www.chookooloonks.com/blog/naphopomo-national-photo-posting-month-day-1" target="_blank">Go over there </a>and check out the details. <br />
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The idea is for photographers to post a photograph a day for each day during the month of November. As usual, I am a day late, but I'm gonna participate! <br />
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If you want, you can, too. Go over there, and add you name. You can post your images to your blog, website, Flickr, Instagram, wherever.<br />
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Here's my first image, actually Day 2, November 2, 2013. Not necessarily works of art for me, but exercises in seeing and disciplining myself to use my cameras on a daily basis:<br />
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<br />Kitty: wherever you are, she wants to be. And she wants to lie down right in the middle of whatever you're doing! (taken with an iPad)<br /><br />
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<br />Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-69428864216819758552013-10-29T19:04:00.001-04:002013-10-29T19:19:31.857-04:00Now That Ramadhaan and the Eids are Over ...<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jihadlevine/10301232264/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" height="278" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7409/10301232264_81465b624d.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jihadlevine/10301232264/">Eid Mubarak!</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jihadlevine/">Shaalom2Salaam (Safiyyah)</a>.</span><br />
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Salaams and Hello!<br /><br />Insha Allaah this reaches you all in the best of health and iman, and infused with all the benefits of Ramadhaan and the Eids!<br /><br />What are your plans for the upcoming year?<br /><br />As for me, our mosque Sunday school started in September. I'm teaching the kindergarten 1 and kindergarten 2 kids this year. I REALLY love teaching the babies! I have the Arabic classes for this age group. <br /><br />Also broke down and purchased a copy of Adobe's Lightroom (LR) 5 editing software. I can't wait to start shooting in RAW format and editing in LR. Believe it or not, I've been using the free version of Picasa all this time, lol. I was taught in art school that an image should be good "SOTC," that is, "straight out of the camera," and should require minimal editing. But LR is supposed to really perform digital dark room miracles. So, stay tuned! <br /><br />I plan, Insha Allaah, to go to Turkey again in April. This will be my fourth trip there. I guess you can tell that I love Turkey! Insha Allaah in a few years, I'll live there. My plan is to be there for six months, and home here in America for six months. Am thinking the rent an apartment in the Fatih area of Istanbul. This trip, again, will be 5 cities in 10 days. This time, hopefully, the itinerary will include Bursa. <br /><br />The big news is that I've obtained gallery space to exhibit and sell my jewelry. I am very excited about this. Once everything is set up, I'll take pictures and post them here so you can see. <br /><br />Gardening is over again for another year. I've wintered over my garden, and am now focusing on cutting back the berry, rose, etc., bushes. <br /><br />And, finally, will go to NYC, to Harlem again in November on a photo shoot<br /><br />What's new with you? </div>
Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-89382706358074123022013-09-18T20:46:00.001-04:002013-09-18T20:49:33.048-04:00<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jihadlevine/9531682647/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" height="268" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2878/9531682647_bebc3b7dd5.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jihadlevine/9531682647/">Amish Boys</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jihadlevine/">Shaalom2Salaam (Safiyyah)</a>.</span></div>
Copyright 2013, S. E. Jihad Levine, All Rights ReservedSafiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-37028202051597729502013-09-18T20:42:00.001-04:002013-09-18T20:50:23.492-04:00<div style="padding: 3px; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jihadlevine/9608867501/" title="photo sharing"><img alt="" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3833/9608867501_96f2894558.jpg" style="border: 2px solid rgb(0, 0, 0);" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jihadlevine/9608867501/">Amish Produce Vendor</a>, originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jihadlevine/">Shaalom2Salaam (Safiyyah)</a>.</span><br />
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Copyright 2013, S. E. Jihad Levine, All Rights Reserved<br />
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I haven't been writing for awhile, but have been spending a lot of time in my garden and taking photographs. I always wanted to have images of Amish people in my portfolio. Finally got a few!Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-67162178300928667162013-07-28T12:35:00.000-04:002013-07-28T12:35:51.207-04:00Stealth Eating and Eating Disorders in Ramadhaan<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(130, 98, 83, 0.0976563); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(191, 107, 82, 0.496094); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-weight: bold; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">As Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barkatu!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Insha Allaah everyone's Ramadhaan is going well, and bringing forgiveness and blessings for you all. Ameen!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Muslims the world over are fasting for this month of Ramadhaan, many going without food and water for long, long hours. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Where I live, the thermometers hovered around 100 degrees or more, plus stifling humidity, in the beginning of the holy month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Facebook posts and Tweets and conversations with Muslims show that most of us are gladly enduring it, together with more prayer and more good deeds, to fulfill our obligation to Allaah!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">BUT ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What about those of us who cannot fast in Ramadhaan? The Muslims who are temporarily ill, or those who suffer from chronic illnesses that fasting makes worse for various reasons?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Allaah t'ala in His infinite Wisdom and Mercy has given compensation to those Muslims who fall into this category. We can make up fasts if we are temporarily ill, or feed hungry people if we are chronically ill.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I am a Muslim who falls into the chronically ill category. The details aren't necessary (okay, they're private), but I'd like to share at least one of the details with you, and some of the issues it raises for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Along with my other chronic illnesses which necessitate medication during the fasting hours, I have an eating disorder. Very few Muslims, until now because I'm writing about it, know this about me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I have Bulimia and am an overeater. There. I said it. I came out. I'm out of the closet filled with dirty dishes, used candy wrappers, and pastry crumbs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Whew! Alhamdulillah!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ramadhaan has always presented a special challenge for me because it disrupts the eating routine I've developed in an attempt to keep my eating disorder in check. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">How? Ramadhaan forces me to "stealth eat," that is, I hide and eat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It's not so bad when I'm home alone during the day. But when my fasting husband is home, off from work, or on the weekends, my eating disorder and "stealth eating" kicks into overdrive. It also happens when I'm at work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I relapse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Muslims are encouraged not to eat in front of fasting persons in Ramadhaan. Some Muslim-majority countries even have laws against it. My husband has told me that he REALLY doesn't mind if I eat in front of him. He used to work in a juvenile facility where he had to supervise kids in the chow hall while he was fasting in Ramadhaan. Alhamdulillah, my husband has the discipline of the Man of Steel (Superman), but still ... I feel guilty eating in front of him while he's home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So I stealth eat. And I relapse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Add to that that I am a Muslim chaplain in a prison, surrounded by Muslims who are fasting, and some staff on the hunt to catch "fake Muslims" who stealth eat. During Ramadhaan, I avoid the staff dining room. Our Chapel is on top of our Visiting Room where there are food vending machines for the visitors. So, I go down there and buy something to eat for lunch/dinner since it's too hot to bring lunch and eat in my car (I have no air conditioning in my car, lol). I can't bring my own lunch to work because staff aren't allowed to bring food into the prison.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ah, sneaking, even though I'm alone, down the back stairs of the Chapel to the Visiting Room, lights out after all the visitors and staff have left for the day, quickly pushing coins into the slots, buying something to eat, knowing all the while that the security cameras can see me, the officer monitoring the cameras probably snickering at my actions ... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Me returning to my office upstairs, devouring my carbohydrate over-processed food (another trigger) ... only after I've locked the Chapel door so no one will come in and catch me ... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">When finished, rolling up the food wrappers and leftover scraps and putting it into another garbage can other than the one in my own office so the staff using my office after me doesn't figure out I'm not fasting ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Hiding and eating, and waiting to be alone to eat is a relapse trigger for people in recovery from eating disorders. So are the rituals associated with stealth eating like I've described above. Sneaking off to eat or drink something and then quickly trying to hide the evidence when someone's coming ... horrified that the smell of your food may waft off to the noses of others and expose you, is pure psychological torture. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Bold inquiring minds want to know: "Sister, are you fasting?" When I became a Muslim, I was taught that it's bad manners to ask someone if they're fasting. I think it would be better to say something like, "How's your Ramdhaan going?" Then the non-fasting Muslim can honestly reply, "Alhamdulillah! And yours?" Because even if one isn't fasting, they can still be participating in the holy month by doing extra prayer and good deeds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Asking a Muslim if they're fasting is also like asking them if they're giving extra sadaqa, attending taraweeh prayers, or reading the daily amounts of Qur'aan. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Muslims don't ask other Muslims "Sister, are you doing extra good deeds?" or "Sister, are you getting all your Qur'aan reading in?" So, why do they ask whether or not you're fasting?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Worse yet is when the bold inquiring minds feel they're owed an explanation when they find out I'm not fasting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The audacity of some Muslims for an explanation is not only an invasion of privacy, but is also a self-righteous, arrogant, and ignorant. After all, everyone is a doctor or a sheikh in Ramadhaan, ready and willing to advise people like me, and eager to share the cases they personally know which they insist are exactly like mine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Worse yet for me is the look on their faces when you tell them you can't fast. It's the same look they get when you tell them you can't have or don't have children, or if you tell them you're not married.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You know that look: the look that something is wrong with you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> It all causes a tremendous amount of guilt and shame, especially for Muslims with eating disorders, and as well, results in overeating. It can make many of us feel like "bad and weak" Muslims. Many of us don't feel like we're "a part of" something so spiritual and unique that is being experienced by the global ummah as a whole. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't know what the answer is. Truth be told, there's probably no answer. But maybe writing and disclosing it is a start.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Say dua for me and other Muslims with eating disorders. </span></div>
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Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-34756308738707987552012-12-30T13:53:00.003-05:002012-12-30T14:00:02.324-05:00Should Muslims Celebrate Christmas, New Year's, and Other Non-Muslim Holidays?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPH0TpsaQ1CqQbOkcA6hlg26DnnyvCZKYY5jsUmd1_hEoSRUHjZkUtCRA_oUveRybUT2wp4_ux5CYmwqUKT2YV3bui6BFOKaVIVK3S0J2p9WMrLONhk-z8bbyEg2Cga6AHxF1i/s1600/santa+three+and+a+half+years+old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPH0TpsaQ1CqQbOkcA6hlg26DnnyvCZKYY5jsUmd1_hEoSRUHjZkUtCRA_oUveRybUT2wp4_ux5CYmwqUKT2YV3bui6BFOKaVIVK3S0J2p9WMrLONhk-z8bbyEg2Cga6AHxF1i/s400/santa+three+and+a+half+years+old.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Narrated Anas bin Malik (ro): The Prophet (saw) came to Medina with two days they played in. The Prophet (saw) said, "What are these two days?" They said, "These are two days we used to play in, in our Jahiliyah." The Prophet (saw) said, "Allaah has replaced them with two better days: Eid al Adhaa and Eid Al Fitr." (Abu Dawood #1134, 1/675)<br /></span></em><br />
This is a picture of me taken with a Santa Claus at one of the department stores in New York City. I was about 3 and 1/2 years old at the time. My Christian mother used to take me for pictures with Santa during the holiday season. <br />
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Oddly, no pictures of my little brother and Santa exist in the huge collection of family photos that I inherited from my mother. Not sure why. There is a 4-year age difference between my brother and me.<br />
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Although my mother was a Catholic when she married my Jewish father, she never converted to Judaism, and she always practiced her faith.<br />
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But my brother and I were not raised as Christian children: we were raised Jewish (until my parents divorced when I was around 12 years old, and she converted us to Catholicism - story for another time!). Occasionally, my mother took us to a Catholic mass when we visited her family in another state. We always had a Christmas tree, and got Easter baskets. Likewise, we celebrated Passover, Hannakuh, Rosh Hashana, and other Jewish observations. Our identity was Jewish, but there was always that pesky issue of my mom's Christianity and the traditions she introduced into our home.<br />
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I remember asking my Jewish grandmother once why Jews didn't observe Christmas. Her answer was simple in a manner that satisfied me. She said something to the effect of, "We're Jewish. That's what 'they' do. We have our own holidays and celebrations." She continued to explain that we only had Christmas trees and Easter baskets out of respect for my mother's religion. She also explained to me how our beliefs were different from those of Christians.<br />
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My Jewish family tried real hard to respect my mother and make our interfaith family successful.<br />
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This year, I noticed that there seems to be a switch in the way many Muslims perceive Christmas and the like.<br />
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"Merry Christmas" wishes, pictures of Muslims in Christmas wear, and pictures of Muslim children with Ginger Bread men cookies were abundant in places like FaceBook.<br />
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There was a story online about a group of Muslims who held a Christmas party for their Christian neighbors.<br />
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Br. Suhaib Webb shared that the European Fatwa Council, made up of 20 of the world's great Muslim Jurists, stated that it is permissible to greet people on these days (exchange gifts even) as long as it does not involve approving any creedal differences between us, or open evil and shirk. The rationale for the permission is that the fatwa against Muslims "celebrating" are rooted in an age of empire and war (Crusades) and that the social reality does not fit ours in the current day and in the West.<br />
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Sh. Ali Gomaa from Egypt, <a href="http://www.ali-gomaa.com/" target="_blank">on his website</a>, also issued a similar fatwa.<br />
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But, MuslimMatters posted an awesome khutbah by Sh. Mustafa Umar (Islamic Institute of Orange County), <a href="http://www.muslimmatters.org/2012/12/25/living-muslim-in-christmas-world" target="_blank">Living as a Muslim in a Christmas World</a>, that gives a different perspective, one like my Jewish grandmother's, and one I believe is more in line with Islaam. The sheikh talked about evaluating the way we make our own Muslim holidays meaningful for our Muslim children and family, and questions how we raise our children concerning their Muslim identities. Our answers and responses to these issues will help our kids not to be confused about their identities. They will reduce the pressure on our children to fit in, and will restore balance.<br />
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In the long run, my exposure to Christianity, Jesus (as), and non-Jewish celebrations like Christmas, had an effect on me that the efforts and intentions of my family didn't foresee: it introduced me, a Jewish child, to Jesus (as). Judaism was never to be the same for me again.<br />
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It led to a lot of questions and a life-long search for G-d which eventually ended up in me saying the Shahadah and becoming a Muslim, Alhamdulillah.<br />
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Judaism doesn't hold Jesus (as) to be a great prophet. So, it's understandable that an introduction to him (as) could be fascinating for a Jewish child. But for a Muslim child, the exposure to him (as) in a way that is inconsistent with Islaam can lead to confusion.<br />
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And it can lead to a lot of questions and a life-long search for G-d in a way that Muslims parents don't intend.<br /><br />So, let us think about these things as we raise our children. <br /><br />May Allaah t'ala make you successful in raising your children as righteous Muslims, and ones who will assure a seat for you in Jannah. Ameen!<br />
<br />Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-28906386495420197352012-10-15T16:17:00.000-04:002012-10-15T16:17:28.564-04:00Pink Coral and Clear Swarovski Crystal Sterling Silver Flower Filagree Necklace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0uEQkBiBADH_aDHvYYWNsQYX5P2p-0SeaApQQG_xTnclelZWkWKgGaZx3mAaShIth0n1415AN-f_X79yrCxr0n57wB_gLg20ASPLIqpZ9Gx-H8HD4Hxg4McdTHlNpnTnF8zm/s1600/Coral1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP0uEQkBiBADH_aDHvYYWNsQYX5P2p-0SeaApQQG_xTnclelZWkWKgGaZx3mAaShIth0n1415AN-f_X79yrCxr0n57wB_gLg20ASPLIqpZ9Gx-H8HD4Hxg4McdTHlNpnTnF8zm/s320/Coral1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />My latest necklace design! <br /><br />See it at <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/112236914/pink-coral-and-clear-swarovski-crystal">https://www.etsy.com/listing/112236914/pink-coral-and-clear-swarovski-crystal</a><br />
Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-52803382880999757042012-10-15T12:55:00.001-04:002012-10-15T12:55:50.470-04:00Green Jasper Lentil Stone Bracelet Adjustable Sterling Silver Toggle Closure and Sterling Silver Mirror Spacer Beads<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8uzIEwt-DEYCIItAC3fM-H1m0sExp4KVtUskMDnBrR5G8u717HZF8X5zjmuDid2liB0c5tEYp5po-RHZBdoupwwCFhCF0aoxndlBUukap1LW2CP2jJnJJe7231JbFDhyphenhyphenW1mi/s1600/Green+Jasper+Lentil7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj8uzIEwt-DEYCIItAC3fM-H1m0sExp4KVtUskMDnBrR5G8u717HZF8X5zjmuDid2liB0c5tEYp5po-RHZBdoupwwCFhCF0aoxndlBUukap1LW2CP2jJnJJe7231JbFDhyphenhyphenW1mi/s320/Green+Jasper+Lentil7.jpg" width="307" /></a><br /><br />My newest bracelet!<br /><br />See it at:<br /><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/112214143/green-jasper-lentil-stone-bracelet">https://www.etsy.com/listing/112214143/green-jasper-lentil-stone-bracelet</a></div>
<br />Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-30168498852272404252012-10-11T17:25:00.000-04:002012-10-11T17:25:01.390-04:00Citrine Gem Sterling Silver Filagree and Larvikite Stone With Sterling Silver Necklace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPE6JiyI8CEYkM22eiZ9k5MQ5TJOG2qeNyFct5pSLuM0bSKuNBur4ZMIuqRaznPIHzkn1in4zqN_pbHNHzimJMdI9YjdpUyGhJaf4ZpXuGfSVLY7yD3e73-dww9hBLdT3_NJi/s1600/Citrine5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPE6JiyI8CEYkM22eiZ9k5MQ5TJOG2qeNyFct5pSLuM0bSKuNBur4ZMIuqRaznPIHzkn1in4zqN_pbHNHzimJMdI9YjdpUyGhJaf4ZpXuGfSVLY7yD3e73-dww9hBLdT3_NJi/s320/Citrine5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />My latest necklace design! <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/111893895/citrine-gem-sterling-silver-filagree-and" target="_blank">See it in my Etsy Store</a>.<br />Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-59830759788393192012-10-10T14:36:00.001-04:002012-10-10T14:36:40.587-04:00Carnelian Coin Bali Bead Bracelet with Sterling Silver Spacer Beads and Lobster Clasp Closure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10ZPyD16TMpNnOmcfsG6B7DBJqX-fIfig87HsgrTKf_3nFlNLRs-oEceYJ_WGa71OUrpqwnpF9OLhrqY6QD5sYk5BjGPLdgcZjozskEmG-P6oVnfT-DPIOABDJP1GH42vLPC2/s1600/Carnelian1e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10ZPyD16TMpNnOmcfsG6B7DBJqX-fIfig87HsgrTKf_3nFlNLRs-oEceYJ_WGa71OUrpqwnpF9OLhrqY6QD5sYk5BjGPLdgcZjozskEmG-P6oVnfT-DPIOABDJP1GH42vLPC2/s320/Carnelian1e.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
<br /><br />I'm feeling VERY Etsy these days!<br /><br />See this beautiful bracelet at <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/111779753/carnelian-coin-bali-bead-bracelet-with" target="_blank">my Etsy shop</a>. Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32212161.post-35446205281008020472012-10-10T14:03:00.000-04:002012-10-10T14:37:36.976-04:00Bamboo Agate Hematite and Sterling Silver Toggle Bracelet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_xVuBSnmiyBqkJ-__DUpVI11CvrLv5dPsux8dZsDBOJZfFFvvPNlqoz6zYUTWe7Er6gt14Pwple9LvoJE7ztnEckI8Qo2IUL0_kZ8yw3_WESBgkpNdk_aIFLyEmNN52tHdnJ/s1600/bamboo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_xVuBSnmiyBqkJ-__DUpVI11CvrLv5dPsux8dZsDBOJZfFFvvPNlqoz6zYUTWe7Er6gt14Pwple9LvoJE7ztnEckI8Qo2IUL0_kZ8yw3_WESBgkpNdk_aIFLyEmNN52tHdnJ/s320/bamboo1.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
<br />
View this versatile bracelet at <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/111775918/bamboo-agate-hematite-and-sterling" target="_blank">my Etsy shop!</a>Safiyyahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07670659439981133346noreply@blogger.com0