More Memes

As Salaamu Alaikum Folks:

OK - the second meme:

I was tagged by the lovely Otowi:

RULES:

1. ON your blog, post the Rules & 10 things you have HOPE for in your life.
2. LINK Tag 10 people (we want hope to spread people!) and LINK the person who tagged you.
3. Comment/Notify the 10 People they’ve been tagged.

(All of the below are "Insha Allah" of course!)

1. I hope that our house closing happens on June 2 as scheduled.
2. I hope that I will write a book someday.
3. I hope that my health improves.
4. I hope that our children's library at the masjid grows and grows!
5. I hope that I will be successful in learning Arabic.
6. I hope that all the inmates I work with will eventually learn their salaat in Arabic from start to finish!
7. I hope that my step-son accepts Islam.
8. I hope that I will find the money and the assistance (wheelchair) to make Hajj.
9. I hope Barak Obama becomes President of the United States.
10. I hope that I lose weight.

Haaaaaaaaa ... anyone reading this who wants to participate, you are tagged!

More Memes

As Salaamu Alaikum!

Well, I've been tagged twice. I guess I can't ignore the tags anymore!

The first is from Miss Muslimah:

1. Last movie you saw in a theater: OMG! I can't even remember. I'm almost a senior citizen, you know! Anyhow, I'm too cheap. I wait for it to come out on DVD.

2. What book are you reading: The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates.

3. Favorite board game: none. I don't play board games.

4. Favorite magazine? Hmmm. Don't have a favorite. I subscribe to Al-Jumuah, Islamic Horizons, and Lilith.

5. Favorite smells: Amber.

6. Favorite sounds: Quran.

7. Worst feeling in the world: anger.

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up: Coffee!!!!!!!!!

9. Favorite fast food place: NONE!!!!! I hate fast food.

10. Future child's name: none, Insha Allah. I'm almost a senior citizen remember?

11. Finish this statement: "If I had a lot of money, I'd ...." Hire someone to help me complete Hajj.

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Yes, my husband.

13. Storms - cool or scary? Definitely cool!

14. Favorite drink: water.

15. Finish this statement: "If I had the spare time, I would ..." go on a longggg vacation.

16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli? Yes!

17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice? Red!

18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in? New York City, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Harrisburg, Houston, and various small places in between.

19. Favorite sports to watch? Figure skating.

20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you? she's sweet and shy (oh my, two things!)

21. What’s under your bed? storage boxes and cat toys

22. Would you like to be born as yourself again? yes

23. Morning person, or night owl? night owl!

24. Over easy, or sunny side up? scrambled

25. Favorite place to relax? in my house

26. Favorite pie? sweet potatoe

27. Favorite ice cream flavor? mint chocolate chip

28. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first? Allahu Alim ...

I tag anyone reading this who wants to participate!

Integrity - An Attribute of a Believer

I have always been known among my friends and colleagues to be a person of my word. When I say I'm going to do something, I do it. You can practically "take it to the bank" as the saying goes. Rarely, do I end up not doing what I say, and if circumstances are beyond my control, I will call and explain why I cannot do something. Integrity is a vital aspect of a Muslim's character. Breaking one's promise or word is among the attributes of the hypocrites. Narrated ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said: “There are four (characteristics), whoever has them is a hypocrite, and whoever has one of the four has a characteristic of hypocrisy unless he gives it up: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise he breaks it; what he makes a pledge he betrays it; and when he disputes he resorts to foul language.” (al-Bukhari, Muslim) More importantly, Allah (swt) warns us that "surely every promise shall be questioned about." (17:39)

I retired from my full-time job in November, 2007 after receiving a diagnosis of MS. Alhamdulillah, it's not as bad as it sounds, as I have the "chronic-relapsing" type of MS. That means that the symptoms come and go. The problem is that I never know when I'm going to have a bad day or few days. I don't want to lay down and give in to MS, so I have been trying to live as full of a life as possible, going on pursuing my interests and goals. More than ever, the phrase "Insha'Allah" has deep meaning for me.

The problem is that I cannot always keep my word. Ya Allah! This really distresses me. Some days I am unable to follow through with my commitments due to my health. I know that one is not considered a hypocrite for not keeping a promise if it is beyond the person's control, i.e., due to illness or something similar.

But I grieve. I grieve what I considered to be a valuable aspect of my character.

See, I am also a recovering drug addict. I have been clean, Alhamdulillah, 25+ years. I worked real hard in recovery to become a personal of integrity. When I was getting high, I was a sneak. Every word and action from me was a lie. Dishonesty was my code. Everything that came out of my mouth was bullshit. I'd say or promise you anything with the sole intention of getting over on you. The only thing you would depend on coming from me was that I was going to do whatever I had to do, one day at a time, to get another drink, another hit, another bag, another shot. My drug of choice was "more". When I got clean, I slowly learned how to be a productive member of society once again. I learned in recovery that integrity is a vital spiritual principle that the recovering addict MUST live by and incorporate into his character.

People trust me today.

As I go forward, I have to learn to slow down, while still continuing to live an active life as much as I can. The hardest part of it all is going to be learning how to say "no" when I want to do so much in life.

It's "back to basics" as we say in recovery. "Easy does it!" "One day at a time!" "First things first!"

Our Lord! Take us not to task if we forget or fall into error! (2:286)

Al-Huda Sunday School Library - Update

FROM THIS:

TO THIS!!!!

Jazaka Allahu Khayrn to our masjid board who shared the vision of a children's library, and who agreed to build these shelves for us! And to Linda Delgado (Sister Widad), owner of Muslim Writers Publishing (MWP), http://www.muslimwriterspublishing.com/, and award-winning author of Islamic Rose Books (IRB), http://www.widad-lld.com/, who granted us a generous start-up award. MWP and IRB support literacy and Sister Widad dedicates the profits from the books she has authored toward buying books for Islamic school children's libraries. And to Brother Adnan A. Khattar, Sales Manager, of Islamic Book Store, http://www.islamicbookstore.com/. Brother Adnan was very generous in offering the books to Sister Widad at a discount. He was also very efficient in shipping the books out to us in a timely manner.

We look forward to the growth of our children's library, Insha Allah. We are so thrilled with our initial efforts!

Masha Allah, the teachers and students at Al-Huda school thank both Sister Widad and Brother Adnan for their generosity and commitment to Muslim children. May Allah (swt) reward both of them immensely/Ameen.

Julia Surba: Pyrography on a Frame Drum

Pyrography, sometimes called "fire writing" is a beautiful art form. Watch this video of Julia Surba fire writing on a frame drum. At the end of the video, the finished drum will be played!

Unique Swan Lake Performance

This is an incredible performance. Enjoy the "frog" dancers and then you will see a mind-blowing performance by a prima ballerina. Total 7+ minutes. Enjoy!

(Here's the YouTube link in case it plays too slow on my blog: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOqxSaW05p4

Serving Two Flags

Photo posted by Ground_Control at http://zakheimmastermind911.blogspot.com/

The federal government indicated a New Jersey engineer today for disclosing classified defense information to Israel.

This information included data on nuclear weapons, F-15 fighter jets, and the US Patriot missle air defense system.

Ben-Ami Kadish, a mechanical engineer, spied for Israel and provided restricted national security information to the Consul for Science Affairs at the Israeli Consulate General in New York.

Read more at:

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1203759281435&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout

President Bush and others in the US government have often been accused of serving two flags. Some suggest that America's foreign policy, especially as it relates to Israel, is the cause for anti-American sentiment in many parts of the world. $10+ is given to Israel daily by US taxpayers. America vigorously defends Israel against countries like Iran. Just a few examples. There is no doubt that if any country or group attacked or threatened Israel, America would be right there to help defend Israel.

So, why do these people have to steal from us?

Jews For Salaam by Imam Warith-Deen Umar

This book looks pretty good. I ordered it and Insha Allah will do a review on it after I've finished read it.

You can go to the following link where you can learn more about the book and read sample pages:

https://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=40415

Texas "Polygamy" Compound Raid

By now, most people have seen the below picture in newspapers or on TV news shows:


I don't know. Something just doesn't seem right to me. Let me say that I am not a fan of domestic violence or child abuse, but this isn't sitting well with me.

I think Texas is screwing with these people.

Where's the evidence? An alleged phone call by a young woman at the "compound"? How come no one knows this woman? Where is the infamous "911" call that we have heard many times on news programs? Just where is the smoking gun in this case? Even the authorities admit that they have not "located" this young woman caller yet.

I don't know.

Especially when I DO know that it is usually VERY difficult to remove a child from a home, yet alone 400+ children. Most of us know children who the authorities SHOULD remove from homes, but they don't. Not without SOLID proof that there is a problem. Oftentimes a child in America suffers incredible abuse and neglect before the authorities do something about it. Many times, it is too late.

What's next, Texas? Waco 1993?

Everyone should be outraged if there IS abuse going on. Likewise, everyone should be outraged if it's a flimsy case.

Wonder what will happen when someone figures out that Muslim men can have up to four wives! Are we next?

("First they came…" is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came... )

Islamic Writers Alliance: 4th Annual Poetry Contest

What's New at the Islamic Writers Alliance (IWA) ...

4th Annual Poetry Contest

Theme: Iman

All writers must submit poems that fall within the theme of "Iman." Poets must submit name, address, emailing address, age if under 16, title of poem and category. The categories are:

Youth to age 16
Adult Men & Women
IWA Member

Last date for submission is April 30, 2008. Poems may only be submitted by email. Poems with inappropriate language or not within the theme will be automatically disqualified.

Poems may be any style and must be between 2 and 100 lines long. Poems should be submitted to http://us.f584.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=poetrycontest@islamicwritersalliance.net.

Qualifying poems will be placed on a special poll for our FIRST EVER Polled Judging. IWA Members will vote and choose the winning poems for each category.

A reminder for students and aspiring poets of common Poetry styles:

Acrostic - a poem in which certain letter of the line form a word or message relating to the subject

Quatrain - at least four lines rhyming alternately

Cinquain - five line unrhyming poem

Epic - a long narrative poem about the adventures and bravery of a hero

Free verse - rhyme or no rhyme - write what you feel (my favorite!!!)

Haiku - 3 unrhymed lines in a 5-7-5 syllabic meter - the first line has 5 syllables, the 2nd line seven, the last line 5 syllables

Ode - long lyrical poem

Sonnet - 14 lined poem in iambic pentameter that usually deals with love, religion or some other serious concern

Limerick - 5 lines with a rhyme scheme of (aa, bb,a). The first line explains the situation, the 2nd tells what happened, the 3rd and 4th tell what went wrong, and the 5th tells the significance or consequences

May Allah (swt) Grace Your Pens/Ameen.

Do Muslim demands at Harvard safeguard rights or promote something more troubling?

Jonathan S. Tobin has a thought-provoking article up at Aish.Com concerning Muslim women at Harvard. The debate is based upon the request of Muslim female students and their desire to have female-only access to one of Harvard's gyms.

http://www.aish.com/societyWork/society/Muslims_at_Harvard.asp

While it is a nice philosophical debate, I don't see what the big fuss is all about.

Truthfully, I'm surprised that Harvard doesn't have a female-only gym in the first place.

It seems that some think that granting this accommodation to Muslim students is only the beginning of Muslims taking over.

World Autism Awareness Day

April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day.

See what is being done in the Muslim world for children with special needs:

http://www.shafallah.org.qa/home.htm

The Shafallah Center is in Doha, Qatar.

"Sorry, Sir, You Can't Go In There; This Place is Just for Jewish People"

Read this great story at Aish.com about Reuben Greenberg: black, Jewish, Texan, retired Chief of Charleston, South Carolina Police Department!

http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/All_Hail_the_Chief.asp

Meme: Six Word Memoir

I've been tagged by The Angry Muslimah (who I'm gonna jack up) to participate in the meme below:

Six Word Memoir:

The Rules

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4 Tag five more blogs with links
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

LOVE LIES BLEEDING IN MY HANDS

OK, I tag:

Happy Muslim Mama

Brown Gurl

Jilbabble

Bipolar Muslimah

Afrocentric Muslimah

My Sister, My Friend, My Physician

The Friday Mosque ... Zaria, Nigeria

As Salaamu Alaikum Sister Juliet:

I cried my eyes out when I heard what happened. I just found out today. I still can't believe it! I had to read the article at the Attorney General's website over and over before it sunk in.

Where to start?

Well, I had been trying to get a hold of you since early December. I called your office a zillion times and left so many messages. But you didn't return my calls. Then I called the special number you gave me. Remember? The one that you said connected to the phone in your home? The one you told me to use if I ever really needed you? Someone answered, but it was not you. A woman told me, "I just got this number; I've been receiving a lot of calls for her."

At first I blew it off. I thought that maybe you went to Nigeria to visit your family over the Christmas holiday. When I couldn't reach you in the middle of January, I started to worry. I knew something had to be wrong. Finally, I called the hospital and the switchboard operator said to me, "Didn't you hear? It was in all of the newspapers." When I told her that I hadn't, she said that all she could tell me was that you had left the country and wouldn't be coming back. Confidentiality rules prevented her from telling me more. She suggested that I go to the Attorney General Office's website and put your name in the search engine ...

Remember the first time we met? I sat across from you in your office and gave you my medical history. You looked at me with a faraway look in your eyes. "This," you said, gently touching my hijab," does something to me, in my heart." I sat silently as you continued. "I think my mother may have been Muslim," you said. "I don't remember her; I was raised by my grandmother. But I have a memory ...

When I search your name on the Attorney General's website, an article appeared describing the arrest of your husband. It said that he had been forging your name on prescriptions for addictive pain medication. The article continued to describe how your home and your clinic had been raided by the authorities. It said that when you learned of a pending investigation of your prescribing practices for these medications, you "fled" the country for you native home in Nigeria.

Remember when you asked me where you could buy a hijab? I told you that I would bring you a few when I came for my next appointment. How thrilled you were when I gave them to you as promised! You said you were "thinking" about becoming a Muslim, and you wanted to "see" how it felt to wear hijab.

Why did you leave the country if you are innocent? Wasn't your husband the one who was forging your name on your prescriptions?

When I walked in the office at my next appointment, you greeted me ... wearing hijab! Alhamdulillah, you said you decided to become a Muslim! But you said you wanted to do it "slowly". You told me that your husband became angry when he saw you wearing the hijab. But you said you didn't care. You wanted to be a Muslim. The first thing I taught you was "As Salaamu Alaikum". I promised to bring you books about Islam and a pamphlet about how to pray the Salaat.

My sister, my friend, my physician - how I grieve for you. Will I ever see you again? Insha Allah you will think of me sometimes, perhaps even get on the Internet and read this post. If you do, please leave a comment so that I know you are OK.

And please don't leave Islam. Allah (swt) will help you through this; all you have to do is ask Him.

Ya Allah! Please guide and protect my sister, my friend, and my physician/Ameen.

The Beauty of Mathematics and the Love of God

While I'm working on Part 2 of Am I Still Jewish (have been REAL busy, Ya Allah), check this out at Brother Irving's blog. I tried to re-post it (with his permission) but Blogger didn't format it correctly, and I didn't have the patience to fix it. So, go over there and see!

#9

As shots of celebratory gunfire continue to be heard in certain sectors of New York, Governor Eliot Spitzer is set to announce his resignation this morning.

Governor Spitzer has been implicated as being a client of an international prostitution ring, among other possible legal charges.

This is a man who claimed to be interested in combating the sexual exploitation of women. He was instrumental in passing anti sex traffic legislation. He pursued and prosecuted prostitutes and prostitution rings in his career as New York District Attorney.

All the while, evidence suggests that he is no stranger to being a regular "john".

Why is everyone so surprised at this revelation? The news has been described as amazing, tragic, stunning, shocking, unbelievable, etc.

Anyone who has been involved with the criminal justice system, as I have for many years, can tell you that nothing a person can do is ever beyond surprise. I have seen and heard thing that can make your hair curl.

What does surprise me is that the Governor can hold two news conferences, apologize at one, and resign at the other, yet never admit to us what he actually did! Of course, he copped out by not taking any questions from the media, probably his last vestige of control, while his whole world and that of his family is falling apart.

Are some people shocked because of the hope placed in the Governor? After all, he won the election for governor by a large majority. He promised New Yorkers that he would clean up the state. His entire political platform was based on ethics.

What is extremely disappointing is the hypocrisy of some politicians.

And do we have to again be exposed to salacious details of a politician's sex life? Remember Bill Clinton? His famous denial of sexual relations with his White House intern? And Larry Craig? And the public restroom details? There is such a thing TMI (too much information).

However, Governor Spitzer is no different than those he prosecuted, or those who went to jail or who now have criminal records due to his zeal in taking them down for what he himself was doing.

Am I surprised? No. Just disgusted. Again.

Am I Still Jewish? (Part 1)

Who is a Jew? Controversial question among Jewish people. Answers differ depending upon who you ask.

According to Judaism 101 (http://www.jewfaq.org/whoisjew.htm), for example, Jewish religious law and traditional Orthodox groups make the determination through the maternal line. If one's mother is Jewish, he is Jewish. Even if he doesn’t practice Judaism or identify as a Jew, religious authorities will consider him to be a Jew. Even atheists born to Jewish mothers are considered to be Jews. Formal conversion to Judaism is also a legitimate path to Jewish identity. However, liberal Jewish groups, such as Reform Judaism, consider a person to be Jewish if either of his parents is Jewish and the child was raised Jewish. To muddy the waters further, some Orthodox groups do not recognize the conversions of those affiliated with the Conservative or Reform groups. And what about the people who consider themselves to be Jews who are the children or grandchildren of any of the above scenarios?

Oy Vey! It’s all so complicated.

In my case, my father was an Ashkenazic Jew and my mother was a Polish Catholic. They met and married while they were both serving in the military in 1947. My father was the first member of his family to marry outside of Judaism.

My father’s family tried hard to accept my mother. My great-grandmother, Fanny, taught my mom how to separate dishes in order to maintain a kosher kitchen. My grandmother, Lillian, taught my mom how to cook Jewish cuisine. They grew to love my mother and until her death, my mom affectionately called my grandparents “mother” and “dad”.

We became a blended family. When I arrived, my birth was a joyous occasion with me being the first Jewish grandchild. My grandfather went to the synagogue and gave me the Yiddish name of Heshke (sometimes spelled "Hashka") Ella bat Shimon. For my brother, four years later, there was the bris (circumcision ceremony).

One of the other things my parents did to try to make their interfaith marriage work was to celebrate the holidays of both traditions. My mom hosted the Christian and secular holidays at our house, and the Jewish ones were hosted in the home of my paternal grandmother. Although my brother and I were raised with smatterings of Christianity in our lives, we identified as being Jewish. We never attended church, but we did go to the synagogue. We perceived Christmas and Easter as extensions of the secular holidays, having no religious significance, just another day off from school.

It wasn't until my parents divorced and my mother moved out-of-state to live with her family that we were enrolled in a Catholic school and forced to practice Catholicism. Can you imagine? Two little Jewish children yanked away from a large, loving Jewish family and enrolled in a Catholic school? I was barely 12 years old. Within the timeframe of one year, the nuns prepared me for baptism, Holy Communion, and Confirmation. I was caught up in the whirlwind, too young to fully understand what was going on. I remember one time when a nun slapped my face because I told her that Jews did not kneel to pray.

At home, I was a grieving child in extreme emotional agony. My mother’s alcoholism was progressing, and I was also being molested by one of her brothers. My father had gotten remarried to a Jewish woman and they had a child, a little girl. How jealous I was that my sister had taken my daddy and had him all to herself! I felt abandoned and alone. Life as I had known before my parents’ divorce was stolen from me and replaced with a wretched nightmare from which I could not awaken.

It was during this time that I found comfort and solace in the Catholic Church. The image of the suffering, crucified Christ on the altar spoke to my own pain. The inviting, outstretched arms of the Virgin Mary statue from her niche nurtured and soothed my aching heart. Stories of martyred saints reinforced my sense of victim hood. I no longer felt alone.

At the same time, my identity as a Jew was strong. Summer vacations and regular phone contact maintained the ties of kinship with my father and the rest of my Jewish family. But they were so far away, and my Jewishness seemed out of immediate reach. Despite the psychological peace I felt when I attended mass, I knew in my heart that Jesus was not the son of God. Around the age of 16, I returned to Judaism. My grandfather wrote a letter of introduction to the rabbi at a local synagogue and asked him to accept me as a student. After almost a year of studying, the rabbi called me into his office one day after class and told me that he wanted me to join a class that was preparing for formal conversion to Judaism. Shocked, I replied, “But why? I’m already Jewish!” He calmly explained that I was not really Jewish because my mother was a Christian. Oh how I cried later that night in a telephone call to my grandfather. He gently encouraged me to participate in the conversion ceremony. I still remember his words: “This way, no one can ever say that you’re not a Jew.”

How could anyone say that I was not a Jew? Me, Heshke Ella bat Shimon, whose formative childhood years were spent immersed in Jewish culture and ethnicity. Did I need to convert because the wrong parent was Jewish?

To be continued, Insha Allah ...

Go Figure #1

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They'll_Do_It_Every_Time)

Remember this cartoon strip? They'll Do It Every Time was created by Jimmy Hatlo and was syndicated to major newspapers in America. The series depicted frustrations and ironies of everyday life and people. I used to love this series when I was a kid.

Well, I'm going to start something similar called Go Figure. A place for little vents on my blog. Insha Allah I will figure out how to use cool pictures and graphics in the future.

To cristen my series, I start with Go Figure #1:

Oil prices fell to below $100 a barrel last night.

When oil prices rise, gas station owners run out (sometimes within hours) and increase their prices ... same gas they had in the ground before the oil prices increased.

Will gas station owners run out this morning and reduce prices?

Al-Huda Sunday School Library

Our masjid is doing some construction. So we asked the carpenter to build a "book shelf" in one of the school rooms for our new library. Alhamdulillah, look what he built:

Masha Allah!!! He made shelves across the entire wall! Now, Insha Allah, we will work to fill up the shelves!

For our start-up, we were granted a generous award by Muslim publisher, Linda Delgado (Sister Widad), owner of Muslim Writers Publishing MWP) http://www.muslimwriterspublishing.com/) and award-winning author of Islamic Rose books (IRB) (http://www.widad-lld.com/). MWP and IRB support literacy and Sister Widad dedicates the profits from the books she has authored toward buying books for Islamic school children's libraries.

Sister Widad ordered our books from Brother Adnan A. Khattar, Sales Manager, of Islamic Book Store (http://www.islamicbookstore.com/). Brother Adnan was very generous in offering the books to Sister Widad at a discount. He was also very efficient in shipping the books out to us in a timely manner.

Masha Allah, the teachers and students at Al-Huda school thank both Sister Widad and Brother Adnan for their generosity and commitment to Muslim children. May Allah (swt) reward both of them immensely/Ameen.

And may Allah (swt) reward our carpenter, too!

The kids are so excited, Alhamdulillah! They are looking forward to unpacking the books and arranging our library as soon as the construction is finished (a few more weeks, Insha Allah!).

One of our young girls came up to me today and proudly told me that she knows the Dewey Decimal System and volunteered to classify all of our books! I told her she would be my Assistant Librarian.

Please say dua for the continued success of our little school and our new library/Ameen.