Remembrance of Things Past

Filed Under inspiration, islam, media, nostalgia, spiritual practice | 2 Comments

This excellent 5 minute video won a national contest, and brought back some memories for me of being a young Muslimah trying to do my faith thing in a non-Muslim world. This made me think of the current UUA/YRUU troubles, and … I don’t know. I felt sentimental. I’m so not a kid anymore, but some of the same issues still linger. In any case, watch the video. It manages to be both dead-on and inspiring. (And who knows, maybe even evangelical.) What do you all think?

*** The website this video is posted to (netmuslims.com) was sent to me today by an old friend I haven’t spoken to in over a decade. He manages netmuslims.com and says I first taught him how to design a website, for which he’ll “always be thankful.” Who’d a thunkit?

Popularity: 31% [?]

Mar

4

Dream Homes

Filed Under capitalism, class, islam, questions | 3 Comments

What is this strange phenomenon of endless upgrades and dream homes? I think of a former acquaintance who spent $50,000 remodeling her kitchen, although she never cooked anything more complicated than macaroni and cheese.

Occasionally I’ll watch a show on HGTV (Home & Garden Television) called My House is Worth What?. The scenario is this: a person or couple wants to know the value of the upgrades they’ve made to their home so they can decide whether to put it on the market. Based on the shows I’ve seen, the occupants have typically lived in the house for one to six years, and have spent much of that time pouring tens of thousands (sometimes hundreds of thousands) of dollars into the house. Why? So they can “flip it” and move on up to their “dream house.” Sometimes the houses they’re looking to unload are 3,000 sq. ft. mini mansions with gourmet kitchens, and marble soaking tubs, professional landscaping, and media rooms. And I’m thinking - what the hell does their “dream house” look like? And will they really live in it “forever?”

Years ago when I was much younger, I used to subscribe to Architectural Digest; I loved reading about the designs and locations, and imagining the spaces beyond what the photographs could show. This practice increased my yearning for impossibly beautiful abodes, much the same way that reading fashion magazines increases the lust for an impossibly perfect body. But then I traveled to Spain, and made my way to Andalucia, where the Moorish influence is still very evident. There I saw palaces and former mosques in which the Muslim elite were clearly trying to create Allah’s Paradise on earth. Nowhere was this more obvious for me than at the Alcazar Gardens in Sevilla, where one could easily imagine dwelling forever in bliss.

Standing there, in front of a white pillar that read, in Arabic and Spanish, No hay mas dios que dios (la ilaaha illa Allah) - there is no God but God - I sensed the irony. They had this here even whilst they slaughtered their own siblings for riches. After returning home, I canceled my subscription to Architectural Digest.

Maybe it’s the result of my Muslim upbringing, through which I was taught to believe no one could ever “deserve” Paradise - because one couldn’t do enough good in a lifetime to earn it - but I do think there is a certain level of wealth and privilege which exceeds the amount of effort a human being can actually put forth. I certainly don’t believe that a billionaire worked a billion times harder than a person with a dollar in their pocket.

All of which leads me to ask myself: are there (no) limits?

Popularity: 24% [?]

Jan

8

Did Jesus Fast? and Other Thoughts

Filed Under health, islam, politics, questions, spiritual practice | 3 Comments

Today is the 8th of the month, so I am fasting. I’m not hungry or thirsty, but I feel the impulse to eat - out of habit, I think.

When I woke up this morning, the predominant thought in my brain was a Muslim hadith (tradition) attributed to the Prophet Muhammad:

The worst vessel that the son of Adam can fill is his stomach.

And his advice was to eat enough to keep your backbone straight, but if you need to eat more, fill 1/3 of the stomach with food, 1/3 with water, and leave 1/3 for air.

Muhammad advocated moderation when it came to food - and if one must err, his suggestion was to err on the side of less, not more.

I absolutely feel better when I eat less, so long as I’m eating nutritious foods. Both my brain and body feel more clear and unencumbered. But overeating is a habit with negative consequences for me. And it’s so easy with delicious food all around!

So I’ve been thinking on that for a bit, too. The other thing on my mind is: did Jesus fast - apart from the 40 days and 40 nights? Was it a regular practice for him?

And - I wonder this very idly - do any of the current presidential candidates fast? So often these politicians talk about their religious beliefs, but I don’t care about that (the UU in me). I want to know what they do - what is their spiritual practice? That would tell me a lot, perhaps too much.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Dec

27

Unburying My Head

Filed Under current affairs, history, islam, politics, sadness | Leave a Comment

Not being much of a news watcher, I learned about Benazir Bhutto’s assassination from a casual blogger in Brooklyn. For the first few minutes, I ran searches in Google, trying to confirm that it was just a prank or rumor, but it seems to be real.

For a while now I’ve been feeling a growing bemusement about what so-called Muslims are doing to each other. Earlier this year, I stopped listening to reports about bombings across the African and Asian continents - and slaughters in Iraq. As a former Muslim I am dismayed - and wondering what conversations Muslims are having about these atrocities - in this post 9/11, post-Taliban, post-Saddam, post-Arafat “Muslim world.”

I’ve had the displeasure of interacting with a few very frightening “Muslims” who expressed support for suicide bombings and such things - and this was pre-9/11. But even then they seemed peripheral. Surely, as a typical Muslim in the US, such people are anomalies and weirdos - they were as central to my life as neo-Nazi clans are to the average American. But gradually these people have become less peripheral; they are changing the agenda. Hell, they are the agenda.

For a long time I just wanted to take a break from all things politically Muslim. But now it’s definitely time to get my head out of the sand. I decided last week, while registering for my Winter classes, to take History of the Middle East (in Spring there is History of US-Middle East relations). There is a lot I don’t understand and don’t know.; lots of blanks to fill in. I’m sure a few courses won’t teach me all there is, but it feels more and more necessary to have some grasp of what’s going on. I may not be able to do anything more than have an informed opinion, but that’s got to feel better than just being at a complete loss.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Oct

8

Foot Washing Stations

Filed Under islam, rants | 2 Comments

I’m not against the installation of foot washing stations - many people can benefit from them. And I can understand institutions responding to the safety needs of the public. What I don’t get is why some Muslims are leaving water all over the floor of public restrooms when they make ablution (wudu)?!

I’ve witnessed water all over the bathroom floor in mosques across America - I didn’t understand it then, and I don’t understand it now! Muslims make wudu at LEAST once a day, and probably average about three times a day. At least ONE of these ablutions would take place at home, and I’ve never, ever seen water all over the bathroom floor of a Muslim’s home.

This says to me that there are some MESSY ASS Muslims out there, who treat public restrooms like …. other people. treat. public. restrooms.

Hmm. Well, that took the fire out of my argument.

Popularity: 18% [?]