Welcome to Obama's Jewish America

                                                                                   (Theodore Herzl - Father of Zionism)

                                                                                              Picture credit here

As Salaamu Alaikum and Greetings of Peace:

Not along ago, I read an article/opinion piece on the JTA website written by Ron Kampeas entitled, "Welcome to Obama's Jewish America."

Mr. Kampeas wrote the article in response to the May 27th White House celebration of "Jewish America Heritage Month". He wrote:

"The athletes, the astronauts, the alternative music, the black rabbi, the white dress uniforms, and above all, the left-handed baseball immortal: Welcome to Barack Obama's Jewish America."

Mr. Kampeas maintains that the first-ever celebration "underscored the Obama administration's determination not to be locked into Washington's conventional notions of Jewish leadership."  In other words, he means Zionist and pro-Israel leadership.  He writes that Obama "did not exactly snub" the usual guest list of Jews like those from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, etc., but asserts that they were probably included because both were major fund-raisers for Obama's campaign. He claims that the White House purposely sought to convey an image of American Jewry that was not necessarily organizational or pro-Israeli. Instead, he writes, "Obama presented an array of Jewish heroes and celebrities who pronouncedly defied Jewish stereotypes."

After reading the article over a few times, I'm still not sure whether the tone of Mr. Kampeas's article is positive or actually critical.

One thing is clear for me, though: it's about time that Judaism and Jews are starting to be defined separately from Zionism and Israel. That many Jews in America can be seen for who they are as individual people, be defined by their accomplishments as individuals, and not be perpetually defined by their allegiance to Israel or lack thereof. 

"The lack thereof ..."  Herein is the problem for American Jews.  To talk about this, it is necessary to give you a little Zionism 101.

ZIONISM 101 (Compiled from Wikipedia Sources)

Judaism is not necessarily Zionism. And not all Jews embrace Zionism. In actuality, and especially since World War II, not all American Jews are religious. Some of them don't even believe in God, and many identify themselves mainly as cultural, ethnic, or secular Jews.

Zionism (or "Tsiyonut" in Hebrew) originally had anti-religious sentiments and actually had more to do with diaspora politics.  It is a nationalist and political movement, originally having NOTHING to do with the religion of Judaism.  It has more to do with self-determination of the Jewish people, and a desire for a sovereign national Jewish homeland based on its historical and religious ties of the Jewish people to the land in Palestine.

Zionism was founded in the late 19th century, mainly by secularist Jews as a response to anti-semitism and persecution of Jews in Russia.  It encouraged Jewish immigration to Ottoman Palestine until finally in 1948, the state of Israel was born.  "Aliyah" (think hijrah) to the Land of Israel is a recurring theme in Jewish prayer.  In current day, the world's Jews are about equally settled betweeen Israel and America.  

All Zionism is not equal.  Categories of Zionism include: labor, liberal, nationalist, and religious - with the religious category coming on board last.  According to Wikipedia, "In the 1920s and 1930s Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (the first Chief Rabbi of Palestine) and his son Rabbi Zevi Judah Kook saw great religious and traditional value in many of Zionism's ideals, while rejecting its anti-religious undertones. They taught that Orthodox (Torah) Judaism embraces and mandates Zionism's positive ideals, such as the ingathering of exiles, and political activity to create and maintain a Jewish political entity in the Land of Israel. In this way, Zionism serves as a bridge between Orthodox and secular Jews."

But not all Jews believe in and embrace the concept of Zionism; many Jewish groups are strongly anti-Zionism.  The ultra-orthodox Jews (Haredi) reject Zionism as a doctrine and some among them reject the establishment of a religious state as being against Jewish laws.  Haredi Jewish communities are non-Zionist but willing to participate in Israeli coalitions. A minority of other Orthodox Jews, (the Satmar Hasidim and the small Neturei Karta group) are strongly anti-Zionist.

The early Zionist rejected a good deal that traditional Jews in the diaspora embraced.  For example, the Zionists revived Hebrew as the everyday language of the new state, and branded Yiddish, which most Ashkenazi spoke, as "contemptible."  The new Hebrew language was adopted with the Sephardi, not Ashkenazi, pronunciation.  The Zionists even abandoned the traditional clothing that the Jews of Europe wore.

But the biggest bone of contention between the Zionist Jews and Jews from other places (including America), was/is that the Zionists view aliyah as a duty of every Jew.  Rejection of life in the diaspora is a central assumption in Zionism; living in the diaspora is seen to be restrictive of the full growth of Jewish individual and national life.  Jews who refused to make aliyah to Israel were seen as not being "real" Jews.

***

This attitude is the one that dredged up feelings for me from my life as a Jew.  Particularly, about the arrogant question of "Who is a Jew?" and the resulting stereotypes and divisions among Jews in America (and elsewhere) and Zionists.

Isreal was created in 1948.  I was born in 1949.  The Holocaust was fresh in the mind of every Jew when I was a young girl.  It seemed that our entire identity, as an individual and as a people, revolved around our Holocaust experience. 

Add to that the fact that Jews did not enjoy the popularity  in America that they do nowdays when I was a young girl.  Synagogues were fire bombed on a regular basis.  Jewish men with long beards and sidelocks were accosted and assaulted on a regular basis.  Having a Jewish name sealed your fate and kept you back from opportunities and even jobs.  Even living in a Jewish neighborhood didn't guarantee peace.  I remember going to the commercial district of the Jewish neighbood of Skokie (near Chicago) with my dad on the weekends.  We would get out of the car and do shopping.  When we returned, we would often find anti-semitic literature under our car windshield wipers.   

Most non Jewish children really did believe that Jews killed Christian children around the Jewish holidays and used their blood to make matzo.  Many Jewish children were asked by non Jewish children if they could pull down their pants so they could see the tails of the Jewish children.  Non Jews used to pass around the "joke" that Orthodox Jewish men wore their big hats to hide their horns.

Many people had no problem with calling us names:  Kikes, Yids, Yehudis - to name a few.

To make matters even worse, the Zionists and the Aliyah-bound did not consider those of us who wished to remain in America as "real" Jews.  Kind of reminds me of some Muslims who believe that every Muslim in America should have hijrah as their goal.

So, when I read the article, it was refreshing:

1.  For America to recognize the contributions of everyday Jews

2.  To ackowledge Jews outside of the context of Zionism and Isreal.

Zionism is not neccesarily Judaism.  To be against Zionism IS NOT anti-semitic.  It IS anti-Zionism.

I consider myself ethnically Jewish.  Even though I have reverted to Islam, I am still an ethnic Jew.  My people have a culture - language, genetics, food, music, and yes, some of us practice the Jewish religion.  More importantly, some of us don't ... (even us Muslims).  If an ethnic Arab Muslim were to leave Islam, wouldn't they still be an Arab?

Many people say there is no such thing.  That if you are a Jew, you practice the Jewish religion.  Nonsense.  Not all Jews practice Judaism, but they still identify as being a Jew.  Even the "secular" Jews will tell you that they are every bit a Jew.  No one has the right to say who is or who is not a Jew.

The big problem the Zionists are facing is how to deal with all of the non Jews who consider themselves Israelis.  How does a Muslim Israeli fit into their dream of a Jewish national homeland?  And now, there are many evangelical Christians immigrating to Israel.

What will the face of the future Zionist Israel look like?

Dua for the First Fruit of the Season

Last year, I put some berry bushes in my yard up against the garage wall.  Alhamdulillah, look at the result:

This year, I also put in a grape vine and some strawberries. 

None of it has yielded fruit yet, but I saw a wonderful dua for the first fruit of the season:

... Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet of Allah, upon him be peace, would say, whenever he was brought the first fruit of the season, "Oh Allaah, bless us and our city and our dry measures abundantly."  Then he would give the fruit to the youngest one present.  (Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi, and Nasa'i) 

Floods

I live on an island.  A literal island!  People are always asking me: "you live on a real island?"  Yep, we do!  Alhamulillah, it is paradise on earth.  

Sorry, I don't have a better picture, but if you look carefully, you can see some white approximately in the middle of the picture.  These are the houses on our island, about 80 or so.  The part of the island in the front is a small marina and state park.  The furthest end of the island has campgrounds and a private airport.  As you can see in the background, a highway bridge connects us to civilization; a railroad bridge also passes through our island.  To the right of the houses, you can see a skinny minny strip of blue which is the water on the other side.  Both branches of the Susquehanna River meet and then flow toward Harrisburg, PA.  I literally have one branch of the Susquehanna River a block and a half from my house on one side, and the other branch of the Susquehanna River, a block and a half the other way!  Plenty of mosquitoes and bats over here :( 

Believe it or not, this island has never really flooded in recent history.  Even in the "1979 flood," the grand-daddy of all, by which everything is measured, only the edges of the island flooded a bit and people were rescued by the fire department.  Our house, however, is in the middle of the block, and experienced just a wet basement.  So, when we bought this house, we were not required to have flood insurance.  You would think being a block and a half away from the river on either side would require flood insurance, but it didn't.    Ironically, 1979 was also the year of the TMI nuclear facility incident.  

Ah, why do I bring this up?

Well, a few months ago, I heard a report on the Weather Channel saying that 2010 was going to be the year of floods and flash floods.  They said that places that had NEVER flooded in the past would experience floods.   

So I nudged my husband to get flood insurance anyhow.  Just in case.  I know that everything is up to Allaah swt and at His pleasure.  But I also believe in being prepared as much as possible. 

So, in the past few days, hearing about the flash flooding in Arkansas at that camp site, and in Oklahoma this morning ...

Wow! 

I hope Allaah swt doesn't test us with flooding, but if He does, we will bear it with patience.  And, at least we can be blessed to replace a little of our stuff Insha Allaah.

Glorify the Name of your Lord ...

Copyright © 2010 S. E. Jihad Levine

First Harvest!

As Salaamu Alaikum, and Greetings of Peace

I was out in the garden, and decided to thin out the radishes.  Thin them out?!  Holy Moly - they are ready for harvest!

Alhamdulillah!  And also saw signs of harvest to come.

Squash:

Berries:

Just in case you are wondering where my gardening Buddy is, well, when I was putting all my tools away in the garage, guess who I saw waaaaaaay up in the garage rafters:

That's my Buddy.  Always supervising my work from somewhere :)  From his vantage point, he can look out the garage windows and see me in the garden!

"Keep Telling People the Reality about Israel"

As Salaamu Alaikum and Greetings of Peace:

I had been text messaging my friend in Istanbul like crazy because she works for one of the largest aid organizations in Turkey, Yardimeli.  I was so panicky that she was on the Turkish ship. 

She usually responds to my texts within a day, and I hadn't heard from her since the Freedom Flotilla business began.  I was sick with worry and anxiety.

This morning, Alhamdulillah, I heard from her.  Here is what she says:

"I have been so busy and soo upset since then Safiyyah as you can guess.  I haven't slept until they have arrived here in Istanbul, and always out for the demonstrations.  I feel soo regretful that I wasn't in that ship but Insha Allah I will go in the next one.  But one of my friends died in the ship.  I'm soo upset for him.  I had many friends in the ship.  Anyway, today we are burying the shuhada'a.

The rest are telling such bad stories Safiyyah about how disgusting torture they were having.  They were killing doctors who was trying to help those injured and after killing throwing them in the sea.  They took all their clothes, made them naked, and then pour on them sea water in the ship, and so on ...

Anyhow, keep making dua and boycott Israel with all your power.  Keep telling people the reality about Israel.

Let My People Go!!!

(Copyrighted by me - ask me if you want to use ... I will say "yes" as long as you attribute the image to me!)

Trying to Find My Voice

As Salaamu Alaikum and Greetings of Peace:

My heart is heavy ... I have a lot going on.  Alhamdulillah, it's not as bad as some people have it.  It's merely another test, or rather a series of them, and it will be okay, Insha Allaah.

The thing about it is that it has paralyzed my writing voice.  Some people get writer's block.  I'm not blocked.  I have a lot to say.  But my friend Aaminah put a quote on her Facebook page that describes it perfectly for me:

""One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter." (James Earl Jones)

In addition to my own problems, it just seems to me that the whole world has gone crazy - The BP oil catastrophe on the Gulf Coast, the Arizona immigration law ...

And the fitnah on a lot of the Muslim blogs is also depressing.  It seems like every click on my list of blog feeds, takes me to a place that gives me a grand headache.  More than once, I have started to write a comment, but canceled it.  What's the use?

But, a recent court battle won by Gisha of its Freedom of Information Act petition got me thinking (after I got over my waves of nausea), and has motivated me to write. 

You can go to the link and read for yourself and see the lists of items that the Israelis consider contraband for Gaza in the name of national security (like coriander, lol), but what REALLY caught my eye was that Israel admits the existence of a "red line" document that establishes the minimum nutritional requirements for the residents of Gaza BUT REFUSES TO REVEAL IT!  I read somewhere else that the Israeli government is trying to determine how much food a person from Gaza needs based on gender, age, etc., to prevent starvation.

Ya Allah ... Ya Rabb

How can a people who suffered the cruel atrocities of the Nazis even dream up such a plan?

And now this morning - we wake up to the news of the Israeli IDF assault on the Freedom Flotilla that was taking aid to the people in Gaza.  This flotilla was the 9th such trip of international peace activists, mainly organized by the Free Gaza Movement.  Seventy-five miles off the coast of Isreal, in international waters, the IDF attacked the flotilla of six ships, and then boarded the Turkish vessel, Mavi Marmara.  All of this is in direct violation of international law.  (And so is the blockade of Gaza, by the way ...)  Facts are hard to come by at this time, but what is known is that a number of civilians have been murdered by the IDF, and some 800+ activists are being held by the Israelis out of communication with their familes and embassies. 

Until this incident, Turkey was the only Muslim friend of Israel.

Lately, however, there have been problems and tensions have risen.

When I was in Istabul a few months ago, we were the guests of a Turkish aid organization called Yardimeli that does a lot of work in Gaza.  Shortly before we arrived, a Yardimeli group had gone to Gaza to bring aid.  When the group prepared for return to Turkey, one of its team members was not permitted by the Israeli government to come home.  For no reason.  Except to discourage people and organizations from helping the Gazans.  Alhamdulillah, on the day we left, the brother was allowed to return to Turkey.  But, the Turkish government had to get involved.  All of Yardimeli's efforts to resolve any "problem" the Israelis might of had was in vain. 

Well, the Turkish government is now pissed.  Allaah only knows where this Flotilla crime will lead.

Say dua.  Please.

Insha Allaah I will be writing a series of posts about Jewish people and Israel.  But, I leave you with this fact: not all Jewish people are Zionists.  Even some Zionists in Israel do not like what's going on with Gaza.  Please remember this.

A Morning of Potting Flowers

As Salaamu Alaikum

and

Greetings of Peace!

Over the past few years, I have always bought potted flowers and hanging plants in the Spring.

This year, I decided to buy a few trays of flowers, and make up the pots myself!  I wanted to make good use of all of those plastic pots, and various fancy ones I have:

Here is the result:

 

Next year, Insha Allaah, maybe I'll buy bulk flowers early, make up some pots, and vend them somewhere.  What do you think?  Good idea?

In the next picture, I made good use of the tons of cinder blocks I have in back of the garage:

Look at the huge bee!  I'd hate to get stung by one of them :(

Rose on the side of the house:

One of the hummingbird feeders I got at the Dollar Store.  I made my own nectar from water and sugar! 

Last but not least ... Buddy!

He found the Catnip patch.  I planted two of them for him.  He only found this one so far :)

Shaam - Jashne Aamede Rasool (Live)

I was searching on You Tube for some daff (duff) drumming to practice along with.  Came across this group and their nasheed in Urdu.

Absolutely beautiful, Masha Allah.

Enjoy!

2010 Garden

Anas bin Malik (ra) narrated that the Prophet (saw) said: "There is none amongst the Muslims who plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, but is regarded as a charitable gift for him." (Sahih al-Bukhari: 2320)

Alhamdulillah, the time has arrived! After all of the digging and roto-tilling, the time to plant for our time zone has arrived.

Our time zone claims that it is relatively safe to plant on Mother's Day. However, last year, we had a hard frost a week after Mother's Day. My garden at that time was only a space behind my garage. It was a great jihad for my husband and I to scramble to put a tarp over that area. This year, I extended my garden all the way across my property. It is now THREE times as large, Masha Allah!

During the winter (because gardeners dream of their gardens the entire year long, lol), I read a great book called "Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening" by Louise Riotte.

She also wrote another book about companion planting called "Roses Love Garlic."

In the Introduction of the book, she states "The magic and mystery of companion planting have intrigued and fascinated humans for centuries, yet it is a part of the gardening world that has never been fully explored. Even today we are just on the threshold." Ms. Riotte says that some plants "assist each other to grow well" and that other plants repel insects and even other plants.

For example, "a major enemy of the carrot is the carrot fly, whereas the leek suffers from the onion flt and leek moth. Yet when leek and carrot live together in companionship, the strong and strangely different smell of the partner plant repels the insects so much that they do not even attempt to lay their eggs on the neighbor plant. They take off speedily to get away from the smell."

So, during the winter, I mapped out a companion garden. And, with notebook in hand, my feline companion, Buddy, and I headed out to our garden.

This is what the garden looked like after roto-tilling. Some weeds have grown around the edges, and strong winds from a few weeks ago had scattered maple seeds all over.

In the background, are some mums from last year, and a sage plant that survived the winter.

I used to have chives and lemon grass back there, too, but I moved them out of the garden to another area of my yard.  In that area, I also planted two strawberry plants and a big thyme plant lives there that was also transplanted from the garden area.  (Strawberries and thyme are hidden in the background of this image.)

With tomato cages and other supplies at the ready, Buddy and I begin our work of weeding and planting.

Wait a minute!  Where did my helper, Buddy, go?  Oh no!  There he is!  Can you believe it?

After a few hours of work, the garden starts to take shape!

Look who comes strolling in now that most of the work is done!

After all the work was done, the initial layout looks like the picture below.  What looks like bare areas were actually planted with seeds, and will Insha Allaah, be filled up when I separate the seedlings after they come up.

As you can see, Buddy approves! (Those are pepper plant starters.)

Seen At The Supermarket This Morning ...

WTF?!!!

Spotted Dick Sponge Pudding? hee hee

Hmmm ... I was afraid to ask! Expensive stuff, too. $5.99 a can!

Anyone know what this stuff is?

Yes, I'm Still Around!

Alhamdulillah! I've been too busy. More than I like.

Gardening season is upon us, and I'm taking an Adobe image editing course at our local university.

Here's a picture of one of my garden Poppies that I hope you will accept as an apology :)

Morning Dua

Oh Allaah,

Please.

Get me all the way down safely.

Ameen.

I don't even know what to title this post.

"Naseehah to Muslim bloggers?" Allahu Alim.

But ... I read a lot of blogs. Especially those from the Middle East and Saudi in particular. Many of the bloggers who live there write of various problems in the region.

Some problems are problems of culture. Others are "problems" that have to do with Allaah's religion that some Muslims particularly do not agree with, or like; for example, plural marriage.

Lately, I have been reading a lot of posts on these blogs that have to do with niqab and child marriage.

Muslims are entitled to their opinions.

In the case of the niqab, some Muslim women view niqab as fard, and it is not a matter of opinion for them.

And child marriages, and mostly everyone agrees that disgusting child marriages between old geezer Muslim men and 10 and 11 year old virgin children are just plain not right. The media loves to print stories, and lately even the Arabic media, about these young girls who die in childbirth.

(If anyone is reading this and is confused, I just hit "publish" before I was done, lol.)

What I object to is the lack of manners and adab of the commenters on these posts. In many cases, they end up confusing culture with Islam, or even up slandering the Prophet Muhammad, saw.

I think we can discuss the issues like intelligent people without doing this.

And of course, there are non Muslim people who troll Muslim blogs looking for posts on these issues.

As a Muslim blogger, I wouldn't allow anyone to slander Islam or the Prophet Muhammad, saw, on my blog or website.

As a Muslim we are bound to defend Islam and the Prophet saw. It is an obligation upon Muslims.

A look at some of these posts reveals 100 plus comments, which are not comments at all, but are actually arguments.

I know this post seems disjointed, but I just had to write and get my feelings out.

Insha Allah you all are having a nice day :)

I have photographed a lot of orchids. I absolutely adore them. I never tire of their endless variations.

But THIS orchid is special. It's the first orchid plant that I have been able to winter over to spring flower! It's not for lack of trying. I have scores of orchid pots all over the house. I buy them all the time, and after the blooms die off, I set them aside ... and hope!

The one pictured above is the first to bud and flower, Subhan'Allah.

I'm so thrilled. Isn't it lovely, Masha Allah?!!

On another note, I hate the quality of images uploaded to Blogger. They always look so dark. I have been fighting switching to Wordpress ... will have to think of something, Insha Allah.

Sujood

("Sujood" - taken in the Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
Copyright 2010 S. E. Jihad Levine)

This morning I made sujood during my Fajr prayer.

"Big deal, Safiyyah. What's so unusual about that?" you may wonder.

It IS a big deal for me. Because I rarely get to do it.

Between MS and Arthritis, I cannot always make my salaat without the use of a chair. I also have a very stubborn Baker's Cyst behind my left knee. They are supposed to dissolve on their own, but oh joy, mine actually comes and goes. I've had it for about two years. This cyst and the Arthritis make it very painful and nearly impossible for me to sit between the two sajdahs, or to sit for the Tashahhud.

Even though Allaah swt granted the use of a chair as His Mercy for Muslims like me, I still grieve. When I have to make salaat in a chair, I mourn the full physical movements that lend so much spirituality to the prayer. I miss the involvement of my entire body in praising Allah swt. More than anything, I miss the feeling of my forehead on the prayer carpet.

Sujood has a position of excellence in the salaat.

In the time of the Prophet saw, one time during the month of Ramadan, there was a a rainstorm that washed the roof of the mosque away. The roof was made of palm-branches. The Messenger saw of Allah swt was making salaat when this happened. He didn't stop his prayer, but continued and MADE SUJOOD IN THE MUD! Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (ro) said, "So I saw, with my own eyes, the Messenger of Allah, with traces of mud and water on his forehead and nose."

Subhan'Allaah!

The Prophet saw also "used to say, 'There is no one among my ummah whom I will not recognise on the Day of Resurrection.' They said, 'How will you recognise them, O Messenger of Allaah, among the multitude of created things?' He said, 'Do you not see that were one of you to enter an enclosure in which there was a jet black steed and a horse with a white forehead and legs, would you not recognise the latter from the former?' They said, 'Of course.' He said, 'Thus, my ummah on that day will surely have white faces because of sujood, and white arms and feet because of ablution.'"

Also, when Allaah swt wants to have mercy on the people of the Fire, he orders the angels to pull out those people who used to worship Him. The angels will recognise those people from their sujood marks because Allaah swt has prohibited the Fire from consuming the sujood marks.

In his book, Du'a: The Weapon of the Believer, Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi describes sujood as "the most noble posture that a worshipper can be in, for it is the epitome of humility and submissiveness."

"And how can it not be," he writes, "when a person in prostration lowers his face - the most noble and sacred part of his body - to the dust, seeking the pleasure of his Lord? This is why this posture is the most beloved by Allaah."

The closest any worshipper can be to his Lord is while he is in prostration, so increase your duas in it. (Muslim)

Ya Allaah! I want to be close to You!

Ya Allaah! Cure me, and make it easy for me to make sujood! Make it easy for Your messenger to recognise me on the Day of Resurrection. Make it easy for the angels to recognise me. Ameen!

Video Release of Attack on Reuters Employees and Iraqi Civialians

As a Muslim, a photographer, and an American - this video makes me sick.

I have a special affection and admiration for war correspondents and war photographers. It was the war photographers of the great "Look" and "Life" magazines which initially got me interested in photography nearly 40 years ago.

This video and article shows the proof of what happened to Reuters photographer, Namir Noor-Eldeen, and his driver, Saeed Chmagh, as well as the Iraqi civilians who tried to assist them after they were attacked.

The US military tried to cover up what happened, and even lied about it.

THEIR video, shot from the air, with THEIR voices documenting what happened, reveals the truth.

With all of the sophisticated equipment the military has, one would think they could see the difference between an AK47 and a camera slung over someone's shoulder.

New York Times article here.

Video here.

Thanks to American Muslim Journalists Association (MAJA) for sharing these links.

May Allah swt forgive the sins of Reuters employees Namir Noor-Eldeen, age 22, his driver, Saeed Chmagh, age 40, and the Iraqi civilians who tried to help. May Allah swt comfort their families, and grant the deceased the best place in the Hereafter/Ameen.

UPDATE:

I just saw retired US Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt on CNN. I am deeply disappointed that CNN has helped the military to yet go on another attempt to cover up and lie about what happened. Giving sympathy to the military does no justice. The story was NOT about how mistakes can be made in a war zone, but was about how the military lied and obstructed Reuters from doing the investigation. CNN failed to tell the REAL story. And CNN failed to make the viewers aware that there were children in the van with the civilians when it was attacked. Kimmitt proudly told CNN viewers about the sophisticated cameras and equipment in the Apache helicopters. Couldn't it see cameras and children? Then he blamed the victims by saying that the Reuters staff weren't wearing identifying clothes.

I hope Reuters does not let this story die.

AlJazeera video coverage here.

Yard Sale Dawah

For the most part, the garden roto-tilling is done. My husband and my neighbor put up a new garden fence for me yesterday (thank you!). The winter yard clean-up is done. The mulch has been spread. The plant containers around the house have been filled with mulch and are waiting for new occupants.

Soon I will be starting seedlings on my sun porch, Insha Allah.

Whew!

So, while I wait for Mother's Day - the time for planting in my gardening "zone" - my attention is turned to what else but YARD SALES!

Scouring my house for things to sell!

Yard sales - I love to go to them, and I love to have them.

I had my first one last year. I was initially a bit intimidated because I had no experience in having one for myelf, and I didn't know what to expect.

But let me tell you, when the people started waltzing down my driveway, and the money started filling my coffers, I got right into the groove! You would have thought I was an old pro. Even my husband was surprised and wished he would have listened to me and put a thing or two of all the stuff he hoardes into the sale.

I keep trying to get him to let go of some of his movie DVDs. We have never watched a movie together twice, so why keep them? Okay. Okay. They're his. I guess I wouldn't be too understanding and patient if he wanted me to yard sale some of my stuff that he perceives to be senseless to keep :)

There are many facets to yard sale-ing.

Some people love to yard sale, but other people find it difficult to let go of things. If you want a good laugh about "things," Insha Allah one day you will see George Carlin's comedy skit on "stuff."

Me? Well, I don't have a difficult time letting go of too much. I think it comes from my history of poverty. When I was a kid, we were poor. We lived in a housing project, and my mother tried to get by on the meager child support my father sent when and if he felt like sending it. Otherwise, we went without. And without ... we were a lot. There was also a problem in my house with most of the money being spent on alcohol. Therefore, food and things like school clothes took a back seat.

Anyhoo.

Easy come - easy go. That's my motto.

And that goes for people, too. I have no problem x-ing toxic people out of my life. I will put up with your fitnah for awhile, but after that, you gotta go. Oh, I may amuse myself and play your game with you for awhile before I split, but trust me, I will split after I am no longer entertained, or if you aggravate me too much.

I had to let go of my father when he wouldn't accept that I had become a Muslim. I didn't cut him off, because Muslims are not permitted to break the ties of kinship. But knowing him, I KNEW he wouldn't change his mind unless Allah swt changed it for him. So, I just left him where he was at so to speak. I called him occasionally, because I knew he wouldn't call me, and the phone calls were always cold. But I continued to call for two reasons: 1 - to please and obey Allah swt, and 2 - it was my duty. Alhamdulillah, my father died upset with me. But, Subhan'Allah, I am still a Muslim.

I could go on and on here with examples, but I think you get my point. If you assume that I have many aquaintances, but few friends, you are correct.

Allah is sufficient for me/Ameen.

Just think! If you let go of some of your stuff, you can then go to someone else's yard sale and bring their stuff to your house, lol.

The best thing about my yard sale last year was meeting my neighbors. We had just moved into the house, and had been in the neighborhood less than a year. We live on a small island that has less than 100 houses on it. Everyone knows most everyone here.

My husband and I stick out because he is the only African American here, and I am the only garbed Muslim woman here.

Trust me - they all know us :)

We know our immediate neighbors, but didn't know any of the other ones.

When I had my yard sale, I think a lot of them came to see me up close. Some of them introduced theirselves and told me where they lived. When I told one man that I ride by his house on my bicycle, he said, "Yeah, I've seen you."

Ooookaaay ...

Anyhow, the basic understanding of dawah is to invite people to Islam. You can invite people to Islam or at least introduce them to it through your own behavior and character.

My neighbors got to see that it's okay to have a Muslim neighbor. I'll willing to bet that many of them have never seen a real live covered Muslim woman up close before. Or chatted to one, yet alone been to the house of a Muslim for a yard sale.

One of them even got to drum with me!!! Below is a picture my neighbor took of me and her mother-in-law. I was showing her how to drum. You can see some of the stuff I had in my sale in my garage in the background. (We were having a joint yard sale.) I had both drums in my yard sale (posted about getting rid of them before). Anyhow, Grammy (yes, I now call her "Grammy") was so happy with the drum that her husband bought it for her :)




There was a study done awhile back where the survey participants were divided into two group: for who knew a Muslim, and those who didn't.

The question was, "Would you want to have a Muslim for a neighbor?"

The group who didn't know any Muslims responded "no," they would not want to have a Muslim for a neighbor.

The group who knew Muslims responsed that "yes," they wouldn't mind having Muslims for neighbors.

What is the carry-away here?

It's that we Muslims should make ourselves known to our neighbors and our community. Interfaith activities are a good way to do this. I also try to smile at each and every person I see when I go to the grocery store, pharmacy, etc., in my neighborhood.

It's just plain good dawah!

So, gather up your "stuff," put on your hijab," and do some yard sale dawah. I guarantee you a wonderful day!

Almost Time!

(It's That Time of the Year Again ... Almost!)


It's almost "that time" for us gardeners!

In my area, it is generally considered safe to plant after Mother's Day (May).

But I couldn't resist picking up these wonderful seeds while I was at the supermarket yesterday.

Am busy reading about "companion planting" (more on that later, Insha Allah) and sketching the layout of my proposed garden.

Toward the end of April, I will start some of the seeds indoors on my sunporch Insha Allah.

In the meantime, I continue to roto-till ......