A Pakistani uncle shared this story at the masjid and I wanted to share it as it is an interesting fact that I had no idea of (i'll try paraphrasing as best as I can).
"Sixty three Islamic years ago, I went to sleep in my country of India. The next morning I woke up, and my country was now called Pakistan. The date was the 27th of Ramadan, and was a Friday like it is today. A super super Friday if you will since it was both jummat al wida (farewell jumuah) and the 27th night of Ramadan. The leaders and politicians probably had no regard for the date being in Ramadan. Many Muslims probably had no idea as well. But it makes me think of how far we have come since then. It has been a painful 63 years for me. I look at India, I think of the tough times my Bangladeshi brothers have been through, and where Pakistan is now. I think of how the Prophet's life was 63 years long and how much he had accomplished during that time. Where do we go from here and what is the outlook for our countries, only Allah knows."
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Fed up
As an American Muslim, I am sick of defending myself. I'm tired of letting the media and those that know little about my faith judge me based on the acts of a few. I will not care if those that may have seen a DVD in the mail or read an article by a Islamophobic columnist determine what they think about me and a billion other people. If you want to think that way, go ahead. It is ludicrous to me in principle for someone to think in that matter, therefore, I will not encourage it by being baited into answering their mocking viewpoints.
If I formed my views of more than a billion Christians based on the KKK or Nazis, it would make no sense. I would have to question my methodology and figure how I could come to such a conclusion. I would challenge myself to meet more Christians personally, and not just stand from afar to judge a people. We may do that in reference to animals in the wild, but as humans, we should be willing to learn more.
Western minds have made this mistake time and time again. Framing the "orient", Africans, Indians to all be a certain way and these racist prototypes still linger in the minds of many today. As a people, we have come further than that, and as a nation, we are better than that. I challenge every one to break out of the mental slavery we have been shackled to and become more active learners in our assessment of humans.
If I formed my views of more than a billion Christians based on the KKK or Nazis, it would make no sense. I would have to question my methodology and figure how I could come to such a conclusion. I would challenge myself to meet more Christians personally, and not just stand from afar to judge a people. We may do that in reference to animals in the wild, but as humans, we should be willing to learn more.
Western minds have made this mistake time and time again. Framing the "orient", Africans, Indians to all be a certain way and these racist prototypes still linger in the minds of many today. As a people, we have come further than that, and as a nation, we are better than that. I challenge every one to break out of the mental slavery we have been shackled to and become more active learners in our assessment of humans.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
disorder --> order
energy or order has a tendency to head towards disorder. this is very similar to life. it's easier in life to fail, to do the wrong thing, to be a sloth. imagine holding something ~ 35 lbs in the air. using both your arms, you are able to maintain it in the air, but this takes effort. mentally, from your body, etc. not having any of those components will allow it to drop. succeeding takes effort. think of gravity. we have a tendency to be grounded to this earth. but only with some effort (jumping, going in a plane) can we be released from this pull of gravity. now imagine if you conquer gravity, you find a way to go beyond it (think astronaut). then you are truly free. this is confusing even my brain, but think of this spiritually and practically. it's just another principle of this world.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
some advice for you
in my experiences, advice is a funny thing. most of the time, people end up doing what their gut told them, regardless of what you may present. and the person giving it is in a weird position of power/wisdom, so it creates an interesting dynamic. (or maybe that's just me and my friends)
one interesting thing is to note what someone tells you. most people's advice is given through their lens on the world, taking on their experiences in life, in what they have observed, learned, etc, and they are trying to make sense of your reality on their terms. it is close to impossible for someone to truly think from your point of view. because of that, you can tell a lot about what someone thinks of this world, what their experiences have been, etc. maybe this is really elementary, but i just found it amusing to see another way in which we can try to learn about people.
one interesting thing is to note what someone tells you. most people's advice is given through their lens on the world, taking on their experiences in life, in what they have observed, learned, etc, and they are trying to make sense of your reality on their terms. it is close to impossible for someone to truly think from your point of view. because of that, you can tell a lot about what someone thinks of this world, what their experiences have been, etc. maybe this is really elementary, but i just found it amusing to see another way in which we can try to learn about people.
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