Percolating....percolating..... The thoughts are bouncing though my head trying form into a cohesive blog.... I know that it sounds weird, but like some of the composers of 'ole, I tend to formulate my blog paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence. If the sentence doesn't form into a clear, resonably concise thought that sounds correctly, it's never laid out on the page, or typed on the screen.
So I am having trouble getting the coffee of this blog poured out onto the page. So it's percolating....
First, I feel as though I must appologize for being MIA for the last couple/three weeks. I started getting busy with odds and ends. Then I ended up with three cute furry balls of joy. None of which were over five weeks of age, and, as it stands right now, two will never see the sixth week. A moment for the ones called to Allah already....
That kind of leads to the topic I want to talk about -- Our Legacy. For most people, their legacy is in the children that they bring and/or raise to become (hopefully) upstanding citizens and people. Then there are those that adopt some truly wonderful children that they happen to find and raise. I cannot have children, and, if I am not mistaken, adoption is not allowed in Islam. So I have felt for many years, completely out of touch with any kind of legacy.
This has been an issue for me. Obviously a back burner one, but one all the same. Last night, I read my best friend's blog. Never quite knowing what to expect from his blog, I was very surprised to see that he wrote a long piece about our old hang out.
It was not your average trip down memory lane. It became a right off of reality, back through time to a time and place that wasn't perfect, but was really good with people that I wish I could just call up and hang out with again. It then took a sharp left back to reality when I realized that this -- these accumulated bytes on some random, hidden server that formed words on any screen that requests that page and can been seen around the world -- were part of my legacy.
I had touched someone's life in a very deep life changing way. I was just being me at the time. I wanted all of my friends to get along so we could all hang out together. I now know better then to force that, but then, in my really early twenties (OM. THAT long ago.) it was me trying to make my own perfect part of the world. I wanted us to live on the Yellow Submarine. I've since learned that not everyone has that song running through their head randomly.
My point is this, I will have to say that my chances of having and/or raising any child are slim to nil. So I have been wondering what if anything will be my mark on this world. Then, while reading Bryan's blog it hit me that I already have my mark. Not so much a physical or tangible thing, but quite little things that mark another's heart and life.
I have such people in my life. Bryan being one of the biggest -- just because he taught me not only how to be a friend, but more importantly that having a good continuous friend is more important than having another name on the list of people that were apart of my life. And having a good friend is more important than bad relationships. And a really good friend stands by you when your parents die. They also know when to just say how they feel, will stand on the sidelines and watch the play fail and then will provide the shoulder for you to cry on. (I know, too many American Football references there, but it worked....)
Bryan, I raise my glass of Dr. Pepper to you. May Allah always bless you and yours.
I have other such people in my life. I'll be working my way through the short list.
Have a lovely day.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Freedom: Most loved, but hard to explain
One of the most wanted and loved things in life is freedom. People that want it or desire some part of it, they will do almost anything to get it. Yet, those that have it, tend to abuse it and squander it.
This country was founded on freedoms. One of the biggest freedoms was religion. In fact, in school growing up were we taught that the pilgrims came here because they were being persecuted in Europe for their religion. They wanted to come to a new place so they could worship as they felt God had instructed them to worship. No less then others, just different.
Here we are over 200 years later, and we still have issues with our freedoms. Not the least of which is religion. Religion gets mixed up with other freedoms and distorts the views of many people.
Today, we Muslims tend to be getting the brunt of the backlash. And freedom of religion is coming to the fore once again. The Mosjid (Mosque) that has been under harsh scrutiny in New York has become the spark in a house with a gas leak. It has become this mainly because the media has distorted so many facts about the building and what it is.
The building has been used for a Mosjid for years. The 60 or so people that were Muslims that were killed when those towers exploded likely prayed there. What they are planning with that site is a community center. A 13 story community center with ONE FLOOR being used as a Mosjid. One out of 13. And somehow, when the building permit to rebuild the crumbling building and to make it something better came up for review, the focus became the one floor with the Mosjid. Not the factor that they were making a community center in a location that has historically been a Muslim community. (That was the turn of the last century as reported in the New York Times about a month ago.)
So for those who said that no Mosque should be built where the ashes from the explosion touched, they just might want to pull out their vacuum and remove the ashes of those Muslims from Ground Zero first. Because that is Islamic Holy Ground now. Opps. Did someone forget to mention that???
And as for the burning of the Qu'rans....
Well that gets difficult. The on-again and off-again burning by the pastor in Florida was a mess. I couldn't understand the why of that until the pastor said that he wanted the Mosjid in New York moved. First, how does a Mosque in New York remotely effect him? Second, the only thing that would be acheived by burning the Qu'rans is ticking off every Muslim -- not only the ones here in the US, but also all around the world.
To us, the Qu'ran is not just a book, it is the word of Allah given to Mohammed (PBUH), who was illiterate, and put into written form. The Qu'ran is not just a book to us, or a symbol, or a picture of what we should be like, it is all of that and more. So, it's like burning the cross, the Bible, a picture of Jesus, and any other Christian symbol you could think of all at the same time. I almost feel like an Imam should hold a Bible burning in protest of the Qu'rans that were burned in Tennessee. (A burning held in protest of a Mosjid that was being built/is now being re-built after being burned to the ground.)
Seriously, I'm not trying to be inflammatory, but that is the closest thing we have to what those people were doing. My main point is that they are trying to make hallowed ground and a "Muslim Free Zone" where it is physically and historically impossible. More importantly, it is against the First Amendment of the Constitution. What??? I must be wrong. No, I'm not. I even printed out a copy of the written text to review that beautiful, glorious piece of parchment.
People site the First Amendment for freedom of speech. Well, it does cover that too. But I really truly believe that says sooo much about what the Founding Fathers thought was important by the order that they listed the freedoms in that First Amendment.
Did I mention that this is the first item on "The Bill of Rights"????
Have a lovely day...
This country was founded on freedoms. One of the biggest freedoms was religion. In fact, in school growing up were we taught that the pilgrims came here because they were being persecuted in Europe for their religion. They wanted to come to a new place so they could worship as they felt God had instructed them to worship. No less then others, just different.
Here we are over 200 years later, and we still have issues with our freedoms. Not the least of which is religion. Religion gets mixed up with other freedoms and distorts the views of many people.
Today, we Muslims tend to be getting the brunt of the backlash. And freedom of religion is coming to the fore once again. The Mosjid (Mosque) that has been under harsh scrutiny in New York has become the spark in a house with a gas leak. It has become this mainly because the media has distorted so many facts about the building and what it is.
The building has been used for a Mosjid for years. The 60 or so people that were Muslims that were killed when those towers exploded likely prayed there. What they are planning with that site is a community center. A 13 story community center with ONE FLOOR being used as a Mosjid. One out of 13. And somehow, when the building permit to rebuild the crumbling building and to make it something better came up for review, the focus became the one floor with the Mosjid. Not the factor that they were making a community center in a location that has historically been a Muslim community. (That was the turn of the last century as reported in the New York Times about a month ago.)
So for those who said that no Mosque should be built where the ashes from the explosion touched, they just might want to pull out their vacuum and remove the ashes of those Muslims from Ground Zero first. Because that is Islamic Holy Ground now. Opps. Did someone forget to mention that???
And as for the burning of the Qu'rans....
Well that gets difficult. The on-again and off-again burning by the pastor in Florida was a mess. I couldn't understand the why of that until the pastor said that he wanted the Mosjid in New York moved. First, how does a Mosque in New York remotely effect him? Second, the only thing that would be acheived by burning the Qu'rans is ticking off every Muslim -- not only the ones here in the US, but also all around the world.
To us, the Qu'ran is not just a book, it is the word of Allah given to Mohammed (PBUH), who was illiterate, and put into written form. The Qu'ran is not just a book to us, or a symbol, or a picture of what we should be like, it is all of that and more. So, it's like burning the cross, the Bible, a picture of Jesus, and any other Christian symbol you could think of all at the same time. I almost feel like an Imam should hold a Bible burning in protest of the Qu'rans that were burned in Tennessee. (A burning held in protest of a Mosjid that was being built/is now being re-built after being burned to the ground.)
Seriously, I'm not trying to be inflammatory, but that is the closest thing we have to what those people were doing. My main point is that they are trying to make hallowed ground and a "Muslim Free Zone" where it is physically and historically impossible. More importantly, it is against the First Amendment of the Constitution. What??? I must be wrong. No, I'm not. I even printed out a copy of the written text to review that beautiful, glorious piece of parchment.
People site the First Amendment for freedom of speech. Well, it does cover that too. But I really truly believe that says sooo much about what the Founding Fathers thought was important by the order that they listed the freedoms in that First Amendment.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Did I mention that this is the first item on "The Bill of Rights"????
Have a lovely day...
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
This blog
I've been having trouble writing on this blog. It goes back to what my instructors/professors drilled in my brain about writing for the reader and knowing your audience.
I've been struggling with what and how to write what I want to say. I've been wanting to write about the Mosjid in New York, about the yahoo paster in Florida burning Qu'rans and other such matters, and I just couldn't form the words in my head about the subjects like I usually do. It was like the lovely, poor group of protesters in Pakistan (I believe). Lovely because they were protesting the burning of the Qu'rans - which, from all reports, was because their lives are all about God, and family. Poor because they live in an area where they have no instant connection with the world. Which leads us to why they were protesting: The burning of the Qu'rans in Florida. They hadn't heard that the burning had been cancelled. Whoa. Wait a minute. That was startling to me, but then I thought about it, and just how common-place it is for us to get instant news.
Example: The gas main blow-out in San Bruno, CA. It happened, and it was all over the news. If I am not mistaken, the local news stations dumped the prime time shows to cover the explosion. So what has been happening that I've discovered that I cannot seem to stand -- instant & continuous coverage. Instant, as soon as it happens. Continuous being the ongoing incessant coverage despite no new information and the fact that the news people have covered the same information repeatedly for the last two hours.
I'm the first to admit that I am a news jumkie, but when something like this happens, I cannot stand to watch the news for a week or two. I can't stand to see the same images that have already been burned into my brain to the point of dreaming about them at night. I already have enough problems sleeping at night, I don't need to see the images of houses burning in my head to make things worse...
But it has become commonplace for so many of us in the world. The instant news of a plane crashing halfway around the world, and the subsequent loss of life. So when I hear about how someone didn't hear the Qu'ran burning was canceled and even held a protest where two members of the community were shot and killed over the protest, well, it just blows my little mind.
So then I was thinking about how many of the people in the Muslim World do not understand how it could be acceptable for someone to burn books in protest in this country. Or how people could be allowed to protest without the police shooting into the crowd. I realized that they should be my audience. I don't know how many would read this little blog, or if they would even want to but I now have an audience to go for. My voice can be the bridge between the Muslim World and the American one.
Now I need to go warm up my voice....
In the meantime, have a lovely day....
I've been struggling with what and how to write what I want to say. I've been wanting to write about the Mosjid in New York, about the yahoo paster in Florida burning Qu'rans and other such matters, and I just couldn't form the words in my head about the subjects like I usually do. It was like the lovely, poor group of protesters in Pakistan (I believe). Lovely because they were protesting the burning of the Qu'rans - which, from all reports, was because their lives are all about God, and family. Poor because they live in an area where they have no instant connection with the world. Which leads us to why they were protesting: The burning of the Qu'rans in Florida. They hadn't heard that the burning had been cancelled. Whoa. Wait a minute. That was startling to me, but then I thought about it, and just how common-place it is for us to get instant news.
Example: The gas main blow-out in San Bruno, CA. It happened, and it was all over the news. If I am not mistaken, the local news stations dumped the prime time shows to cover the explosion. So what has been happening that I've discovered that I cannot seem to stand -- instant & continuous coverage. Instant, as soon as it happens. Continuous being the ongoing incessant coverage despite no new information and the fact that the news people have covered the same information repeatedly for the last two hours.
I'm the first to admit that I am a news jumkie, but when something like this happens, I cannot stand to watch the news for a week or two. I can't stand to see the same images that have already been burned into my brain to the point of dreaming about them at night. I already have enough problems sleeping at night, I don't need to see the images of houses burning in my head to make things worse...
But it has become commonplace for so many of us in the world. The instant news of a plane crashing halfway around the world, and the subsequent loss of life. So when I hear about how someone didn't hear the Qu'ran burning was canceled and even held a protest where two members of the community were shot and killed over the protest, well, it just blows my little mind.
So then I was thinking about how many of the people in the Muslim World do not understand how it could be acceptable for someone to burn books in protest in this country. Or how people could be allowed to protest without the police shooting into the crowd. I realized that they should be my audience. I don't know how many would read this little blog, or if they would even want to but I now have an audience to go for. My voice can be the bridge between the Muslim World and the American one.
Now I need to go warm up my voice....
In the meantime, have a lovely day....
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
To Hijab or not Hijab
So I have a precious interview tomorrow morning. Precious because they are a rare thing these days, yet they are the biggest necessity in order to get a job to pay the bills. Only the second one that I have had since I was laid off in April 2009. So the biggest question that I am facing is not what outfit I should wear or how to do my hair, but whether I should wear the hijab or not.
Ramadan is ending this week and I have made a conserted effort to wear the hijab, to get used to wearing it on a regular basis. But the political environment has been getting truely horrific for the Islamic brothern here in the States. It is being exsaserbated by the renovation of the Mosjid near the World Trade Center.
Yes, this was one of the major reasons that I started this blog. By the same token, it is a very difficult subject with many facets that have to be examined and polished for clarity on the subject. Way too many to start looking at them now. But I want to look more at the effects of what is happening with this situation.
One major effect is the amount of stares I have been getting for wearing the Hijab. I get stares anyway -- well you would to if you saw a very fair, blonde hair, & blue eyed woman wearing a hijab too. I even get stares when I go into the Mosjid. But the stares have been increasing and getting more astringent of late.
Not only from the white Anglo-Saxon descendants, but also from the Persian and other people from Muslim majority countries. In the past, the white people have been more rude about it. Imagine eating dinner with your niece, who is sitting across from you, in a restaurant having a really good time laughing until your crying and generally having a blast. Only to have the family that sat down behind your niece and stare at you. And I'm not talking the occasional glance from the child, I'm talking the uncomfortable hard stare that you feel into your soul from the father of the family. I'm talking seeing him always looking at you when you're looking at your niece, and every time you happen to glance over. To me, it was beyond rude, and it really put a damper on the evening for me.
But it hasn't gotten any easier.
The overt showing of displeasure of the Mosjid being near ground zero has put the Islamic world back under attack. Like I said, I will go into this further at a later time, but one of the major things is that the Mosjid has already been there for years. They just want to remodel or gentrify the building and make it more useful. They needed the proper permits to do this, and they applied accordingly. It's just someone who dislikes the Islamic world that put the permit request out there and twisted it.
This dislike has quickly and readily spread to other states and Mosjid. The one under construction in Tennessee is a very good example. Someone torched it. It is now an arson case, and has garnered national attention. More locally, the Mosjid near San Jose has gotten attention and backlash for wanting to build a minaret on one corner. The opposition was disguised by trying to put it under the "arcitecture doesn't fit with the neighborhood" school of thought. The appeal of the approved permit was denied.
But all this goes internal with me. I feel the stares stronger and I am used to them because of the cane that I walk with. I feel the stares because of my hijab.
So tomorrow, I have my precious interview. Despite my attempts to be more Muslim, I will not wear my hijab. I only have myself to rely on to pay my bills, and unemployment will be ending soon. If I can give them less of reason not to hire me, the better. Allah forgive me, but I need to do what I can to become employed.
Ramadan is ending this week and I have made a conserted effort to wear the hijab, to get used to wearing it on a regular basis. But the political environment has been getting truely horrific for the Islamic brothern here in the States. It is being exsaserbated by the renovation of the Mosjid near the World Trade Center.
Yes, this was one of the major reasons that I started this blog. By the same token, it is a very difficult subject with many facets that have to be examined and polished for clarity on the subject. Way too many to start looking at them now. But I want to look more at the effects of what is happening with this situation.
One major effect is the amount of stares I have been getting for wearing the Hijab. I get stares anyway -- well you would to if you saw a very fair, blonde hair, & blue eyed woman wearing a hijab too. I even get stares when I go into the Mosjid. But the stares have been increasing and getting more astringent of late.
Not only from the white Anglo-Saxon descendants, but also from the Persian and other people from Muslim majority countries. In the past, the white people have been more rude about it. Imagine eating dinner with your niece, who is sitting across from you, in a restaurant having a really good time laughing until your crying and generally having a blast. Only to have the family that sat down behind your niece and stare at you. And I'm not talking the occasional glance from the child, I'm talking the uncomfortable hard stare that you feel into your soul from the father of the family. I'm talking seeing him always looking at you when you're looking at your niece, and every time you happen to glance over. To me, it was beyond rude, and it really put a damper on the evening for me.
But it hasn't gotten any easier.
The overt showing of displeasure of the Mosjid being near ground zero has put the Islamic world back under attack. Like I said, I will go into this further at a later time, but one of the major things is that the Mosjid has already been there for years. They just want to remodel or gentrify the building and make it more useful. They needed the proper permits to do this, and they applied accordingly. It's just someone who dislikes the Islamic world that put the permit request out there and twisted it.
This dislike has quickly and readily spread to other states and Mosjid. The one under construction in Tennessee is a very good example. Someone torched it. It is now an arson case, and has garnered national attention. More locally, the Mosjid near San Jose has gotten attention and backlash for wanting to build a minaret on one corner. The opposition was disguised by trying to put it under the "arcitecture doesn't fit with the neighborhood" school of thought. The appeal of the approved permit was denied.
But all this goes internal with me. I feel the stares stronger and I am used to them because of the cane that I walk with. I feel the stares because of my hijab.
So tomorrow, I have my precious interview. Despite my attempts to be more Muslim, I will not wear my hijab. I only have myself to rely on to pay my bills, and unemployment will be ending soon. If I can give them less of reason not to hire me, the better. Allah forgive me, but I need to do what I can to become employed.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Churches that spew hate
A couple of very good friends of mine were sent a very mean letter from a church. That statement alone disturbs me. Someone from that church had to have time to kill on their hands to find my friends and then take the time to write and edit that letter. Wow, that was a lot of time and effort to put into a hate letter.
My friends are wonderful people, and I have known them for years. I even consider one my brother even though he's just a few months younger than me. So I take this a little more personal than I normally would. So, when I heard about this letter, I researched the church behind the letter and this is what I found:
A place that preaches hate more than any Mosque that I have been in to date.
I went through their future protest schedule and found an interesting trend. That this church preaches hate to any other church or organization that doesn't follow that bible the way that they interpret it. Wow. The depravity of some of the humanity amazes me sometimes....
In this list of future protests, I was astounded to see that the very next one is scheduled to be held at a funeral. The funeral of one of the very people that died so that these close-minded people could have the right to speak their mind. (Yes, it is a military funeral. They do not say what branch, but they give his rank and full name.) This schedule with each listing goes on to say why they are protesting each of these locations and dates. So what did this poor military man do to incur a pretest at his internment??? Was he gay and came out in the military? Doesn't say anything of the sort. Was he a rapist or other deviant? Nope. So what was his offence? He was born in the "Whore" state of Nebraska. HE WAS BORN IN NEBRASKA. Wow.
They go on to list various churches and to call them "Whorehouses". The biggest of which is the Catholic Church. In the current list, they currently are planning on not only holding protests at the churches, but also at Catholic high schools, universities, and seminaries. Really? How is this really going to help your cause? And just when were you planning on doing your sermon??? The website goes on to make the following statement: "And every time ANYONE puts even ONE PENNY in the collection plate, they are paying the salaries of the pedophile rapists WORLDWIDE! They are pari delicto - it is as if they raped the children themselves!" Wow, really? Am I included in that because I gave money to the church before the scandal got so bloody big? If that is the case, I am now responsible for giving money to an organization that allowed so really awful behavior from a minority of that organization. And I now have an equal part in the molestation of all of children ever touched by a Catholic Priest. Wow, a little money really does go far.
They are also scheduled to protest at the Harley-Davidson Breast Cancer Awareness Ride. (Now that really takes some gumption.) The author goes on to call them a "Hapless bunch of boobless-bitter-biker-bitches." Makes me wonder why he's noticing the lack of boobage. He then spews more hate by saying that they caused their own cancer and how they deserve what they get. Really?
I really am not sure why they feel the need to protest the national pastime, baseball. But they do have a protest scheduled for the Cardinals/Rockies game. I guess their schedule had a hole and they wanted an excuse to go to the game.
I just don't understand how someone can preach such hate and claim to love and follow God. It disturbs and saddens me. God tells us to love our neighbor and to not judge him. Yet in every single post from that church, that is what they are doing. They even plan on protesting at the White House (President Obama is referred to as an "Anti-Christ Beast Obama") and the Supreme Court ("And the Supreme Court has the rectal blood of millions of children smeared on their robes.") They are protesting at the White House because they believe that Obama is the Anti-Christ, and the Supreme Court because they are Catholic. The author goes on to say that any and all Catholics are molesters. Wow. Really??
This group has even go so far as to travel to Iraq to preach and spew their hate. That takes a rare form of human -- to go half way around the world to tell the people of another country that their religion and way of life is all wrong and that you hate them for it. Really? Wow. No wonder the Persians don't like us if they think that we are all like these protesters. That we would let such people to speak, let alone go off to another country and spew such hate.
We Muslims are starting to be attacked more and more (The college student allegedly attempting to murder the taxi driver that was driving the student's drunk self home in New York is a very good example.) I am growing concerned for the safety of all Muslims in this country.
I guess that all we can to is pray for all of those that wish others harm.
In the meantime, have a lovely day.
My friends are wonderful people, and I have known them for years. I even consider one my brother even though he's just a few months younger than me. So I take this a little more personal than I normally would. So, when I heard about this letter, I researched the church behind the letter and this is what I found:
A place that preaches hate more than any Mosque that I have been in to date.
I went through their future protest schedule and found an interesting trend. That this church preaches hate to any other church or organization that doesn't follow that bible the way that they interpret it. Wow. The depravity of some of the humanity amazes me sometimes....
In this list of future protests, I was astounded to see that the very next one is scheduled to be held at a funeral. The funeral of one of the very people that died so that these close-minded people could have the right to speak their mind. (Yes, it is a military funeral. They do not say what branch, but they give his rank and full name.) This schedule with each listing goes on to say why they are protesting each of these locations and dates. So what did this poor military man do to incur a pretest at his internment??? Was he gay and came out in the military? Doesn't say anything of the sort. Was he a rapist or other deviant? Nope. So what was his offence? He was born in the "Whore" state of Nebraska. HE WAS BORN IN NEBRASKA. Wow.
They go on to list various churches and to call them "Whorehouses". The biggest of which is the Catholic Church. In the current list, they currently are planning on not only holding protests at the churches, but also at Catholic high schools, universities, and seminaries. Really? How is this really going to help your cause? And just when were you planning on doing your sermon??? The website goes on to make the following statement: "And every time ANYONE puts even ONE PENNY in the collection plate, they are paying the salaries of the pedophile rapists WORLDWIDE! They are pari delicto - it is as if they raped the children themselves!" Wow, really? Am I included in that because I gave money to the church before the scandal got so bloody big? If that is the case, I am now responsible for giving money to an organization that allowed so really awful behavior from a minority of that organization. And I now have an equal part in the molestation of all of children ever touched by a Catholic Priest. Wow, a little money really does go far.
They are also scheduled to protest at the Harley-Davidson Breast Cancer Awareness Ride. (Now that really takes some gumption.) The author goes on to call them a "Hapless bunch of boobless-bitter-biker-bitches." Makes me wonder why he's noticing the lack of boobage. He then spews more hate by saying that they caused their own cancer and how they deserve what they get. Really?
I really am not sure why they feel the need to protest the national pastime, baseball. But they do have a protest scheduled for the Cardinals/Rockies game. I guess their schedule had a hole and they wanted an excuse to go to the game.
I just don't understand how someone can preach such hate and claim to love and follow God. It disturbs and saddens me. God tells us to love our neighbor and to not judge him. Yet in every single post from that church, that is what they are doing. They even plan on protesting at the White House (President Obama is referred to as an "Anti-Christ Beast Obama") and the Supreme Court ("And the Supreme Court has the rectal blood of millions of children smeared on their robes.") They are protesting at the White House because they believe that Obama is the Anti-Christ, and the Supreme Court because they are Catholic. The author goes on to say that any and all Catholics are molesters. Wow. Really??
This group has even go so far as to travel to Iraq to preach and spew their hate. That takes a rare form of human -- to go half way around the world to tell the people of another country that their religion and way of life is all wrong and that you hate them for it. Really? Wow. No wonder the Persians don't like us if they think that we are all like these protesters. That we would let such people to speak, let alone go off to another country and spew such hate.
We Muslims are starting to be attacked more and more (The college student allegedly attempting to murder the taxi driver that was driving the student's drunk self home in New York is a very good example.) I am growing concerned for the safety of all Muslims in this country.
I guess that all we can to is pray for all of those that wish others harm.
In the meantime, have a lovely day.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Hello All
Where do I start? I converted to Islam in October of 2009. Some could say that that day is my birthday as I have changed many things about myself since. This is just another change for the growing me and a chronicler of the changes that I have/will incur.
I was born to a Protestant mother and a Catholic father who battled daily and then divorced by the time I was seven. I ended up being raised by my mother and seeing my father rarely until well after I was 18. I was baptized into a Protestant religion around 18. Then baptized into Catholicism in 2001.
I have always been fascinated by religion and the differences and similarities of them all. (Something else that I will be exploring with this blog from time to time.)
To say the transformation that I have been going through has been easy, would not be true. One of my biggest obstacles has been giving up pork. Never been able to do ham, but bacon, breakfast sausage, and other pork products were common to almost a daily basis growing up. (I'm almost half German for goodness sakes. I never liked beer, but I frequently had proper German sausages. And that is what Germans are mainly known for food-wise, beer and sausages.)
I don't always wear the hijab either. I've lived nearly 40 years of my life not need or was required to wear such a thing. But I have to admit, I love how the hijab covers my unruly hair. I can easily say that my best hair days have glad come about because of the hijab.
So, in closing, I guess this blog will be about the daily struggles of conversion, my personal view of politics, food, and all other things related.
In the meantime, have a lovely day.
I was born to a Protestant mother and a Catholic father who battled daily and then divorced by the time I was seven. I ended up being raised by my mother and seeing my father rarely until well after I was 18. I was baptized into a Protestant religion around 18. Then baptized into Catholicism in 2001.
I have always been fascinated by religion and the differences and similarities of them all. (Something else that I will be exploring with this blog from time to time.)
To say the transformation that I have been going through has been easy, would not be true. One of my biggest obstacles has been giving up pork. Never been able to do ham, but bacon, breakfast sausage, and other pork products were common to almost a daily basis growing up. (I'm almost half German for goodness sakes. I never liked beer, but I frequently had proper German sausages. And that is what Germans are mainly known for food-wise, beer and sausages.)
I don't always wear the hijab either. I've lived nearly 40 years of my life not need or was required to wear such a thing. But I have to admit, I love how the hijab covers my unruly hair. I can easily say that my best hair days have glad come about because of the hijab.
So, in closing, I guess this blog will be about the daily struggles of conversion, my personal view of politics, food, and all other things related.
In the meantime, have a lovely day.
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