Velvet Rocks

I am a Gemini...

2006-04-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

...and we are famous for being fickle. I admit it. So, in true Gemini fashion, let me announce that I have found a new place to blog. Its not that I hate blogger or anything, I love it...I just liked the the fact that wordpress.com allows you to categorize all your posts into neat little sections...so, in case you were wondering where you can find me, here it is: Digital Niqabi . See you around, yeah?

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to the Post Office we Go

2006-04-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, you know what, I need to go out more--that is the only way interesting things happen to me. (Duh!) Today, I went to the post office with my sister. How exciting huh? We actually had to take a number coz there were sooo many people there, and we were maybe number 15 in line. How completely boring, and there were only two clerks serving. How completely annoying eh, as we needed to get back home quickly.

Anyhow, my sis and I are standing there, minding our own business, like the bored stumps that we are. Well, God must have smiled on us today, coz our wait suddenly became totally fun and interesting. See, my sister and I veil completely, head to toe, no skin showing--we don't like the sun ;). So, this man is on his way out of the post office, his work there is done, and he sees us. Anyhoo, this guy decides that his work actually is not done, and stops next to my sis, and stares at her for like 10 seconds, and then asks, "Why are you wearing that?" At first, if I had to put an ethnicity to him, I would have guessed Iranian, but apparently not, coz I don't think an Iranian would be shocked to see girls covered up.

My sister is a lil young (meaning inexperienced), and instead of ignoring him, she tells the guy "Its a free country, isn't it? Can't I wear what I like?" and proceeds to give him a lecture on democracy and freedom, etc. The poor man. I don't think he even expected us to speak English lol. And you know, it was quite entertaining...as it was, everyone was trying their best to not stare at us. But when my sister started talking, everyone, I swear, everyone (maybe 20 people) turned around to look at us. And her voice was so crystal clear, with that perfect spoiled little American girl accent ringing out in that lobby. Poor man. Poor sis. Poor me. loool Then the guy would not leave us alone, since he did not understand half of what my sister told him, coz English was obviously not his first language, and he wanted her to repeat all that! My sister stared at him for a moment, turned to me, and said, "Is he serious? I don't even remember what I just said! How can I repeat it all?" So we just ignored him, and eventually he went away, and left us alone to wonder if we did anything wrong by lecturing him like that. NOT!

On a side note, does anyone go up to the chubby girls in tube tops and low-waist tight jeans and ask them "Why do you wear that, when you don't have the figure for it?" Does anyone harass the girls with the weird streaks in their hair? Does anyone ask the ladies wearing their lovely Chanel suits why they wear that? Does anyone interrogate the punk with 5-inch spiked green hair? Or does everyone just rightly assume that they are wearing what they want to wear, what they like to wear, what is cool to them? I mean, really, lets have some equal opportunity dress-code harassment! Why do we have to be the only ones to answer random people's questions? Ok, ok, I've bored you all enough, I'll go away now :) *who all*

P.S.: I am not bitter, I swear, and it did make my week wayyyy more interesting. What more could I ask for? lol

But its just self-irony!

2006-04-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

Apparently, someone with too much time and creativity on their hands has decided to create a cartoon series about working in the Vatican. Remember all those people saying that Muslims have to be able to laugh at their own religion, that this would be the mark of a progressed, confident people? Surely, the Catholic Church will be called upon to be progressive, and self-confident, and should be urged to be able to take a joke? So, now the shoe is on the other foot, but the same previously open-minded Europeans find this offensive. Well, actually, I wish them luck, because I don't believe in mocking any religion, my own or others. Mockery is interesting, within limits--but to insult, even indirectly, the values and institutions that people feel a deep attachment for is completely unnecessary and downright cruel.

Happy Birthday, ya Rasoolullah!

2006-04-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

My mom was reminding me this afternoon that the Prophet's birthday is tonight, and which masjids in our area are having "events" in commemoration of it. And this set off something in my brain and heart (both usually empty vessels), so I feel compelled to share my thoughts and feelings. I have no problem with commemorating the Prophet's birthday, of course. We should all give blessings upon our beloved Nabi Kareem sallalahu alayhi wa sallam. Not just now, but as often as possible. The thing that gets to me is this: a)How do we show our love for the Prophet SAW? and b) Do we love ourselves more than we love the Prophet SAW?

OK, say I go to a masjid tonight for an event. What will I see? I will see a wonderfully catered celebration, with the best foods and maybe an hour or so of prayers and devotions to the Prophet SAW. Awesome, of course. But how many of us, when we look around the world, especially the Arab world, do anything for the Prophet's people? I mean, is there not a more meaningful way to commemorate the Prophet SAW? While we celebrate the birth of the Prophet SAW, the Prophet's people, the Arabs who are descended from him and his Companions, are living in refugee camps, and surviving on less than a dollar a day. I don't know, maybe I am terribly misjudging the whole thing, but I believe that to love the Prophet, we must love his people, and there is no more vital moment to show love than when somebody is down. Love is more than words, its about actions. The Prophet SAW would, I am sure, find it disturbing that we love him enough to feed our own full stomachs while his descendants hardly have anything to eat. I guess this is my own negativity providing the answer to question a...By no means am I suggesting feeling guilt for the blessings Allah has showered us with by allowing us to live a life of relatively carefree abandon. But in giving thanks to Allah, mayhap we could spare just a thought for those who give thanks while having much less.

All around me, I see Muslims who are so busy in having the most grand wedding, the most lavish graduation ceremony, the newest Mercedes, the biggest mansion, the latest fashions, and on and on and on. I wonder sometimes, how much thought do they give to the less fortunate among us? You know, we don't even have to travel very far to find the less fortunate. Sometimes I hear the excuses for not giving a helping hand, and it boggles my mind. Things like, "Whatever we give is never enough, they always expect more," "Allah knows why they are made to suffer like this," and "They are lazy--they are strong, healthy, why can't they work and help themselves?" I wonder, maybe if we respected our own people, then we would enable the world to respect us? Maybe if we saw to one another's rights, the rest of the world would find us worthy of respect. So I guess my own answer to question b is yes...coz if we did love our Prophet more, we would match our actions to our words. Talk is cheap, including mine.

On this day, when we remember the mercy to the world that is the Prophet's legacy, will we also remember those in his Ummah who are suffering? We can send a prayer for suffering peoples of the world. Am I being completely unreasonable? I feel like I am the only one out here to feel this way. But I do feel better now that I have gotten that off my chest. (Even if nobody is reading this --actually it may just be better if nobody is reading this pity party that has become my blog, eh?).

Paradise Found

2006-04-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

If you have about one and a half hours to spare (and who doesn't), here is a really lovely documentary about the architecture found in the Muslim world. It does not discuss the Moorish architecture of Spain, but I suppose that is due to the fact that it is not a Muslim dominant region any longer. As for why there is nothing about Malaysia or Indonesia, I can't even speculate...perhaps the structures there are too recent. But it covers Mali, Iran, India, Uzbekistan, and Turkey. Absolutely awesome--worth the time spent!

Freedom of Expression

2006-04-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

I found this image here, and I am sure nobody knows better than me how flammable an unwise word really is (because nobody is more unwise than I am!)

Today

2006-04-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

is such a beautiful day! This past week, we had some glorious rain (I really loved it!) which seems to have just cleaned everything out. It was a nice, gentle, and relentless rain, which helped me sleep so good! Now, the sun is shining, the skies are blue, with nary a cloud in sight, and temperature is a lovely 72 F...could I ask for more? Well, I am writing a paper for school, so I could ask for more: Be gone with ye, I say (talking to my paper, not my lovely readers :) )

I love to collect words that resonate with me, so I came across this Rumi excerpt which I need for inspiration:

If you want great wealth,
and that which lasts forever,
Wake up!
If you want to shine
with the love of the Beloved,
Wake up!
You've slept a hundred nights,
And what has it brought you?
For yourself, for your God,
Wake up! Wake up!
Sleep no more.

My problem is that I really do love to sleep :(. Must try to get over that! Do more, sleep less...easier said than done!

How spoiled and rich we are...

2006-04-07T09:40:00.001-07:00

Work with passion

Love without needing to be loved
Appreciate what you have
And do your best for a better world.

Excerpted from this presentation, which makes one realize how much we have, and how much to be grateful for.

I sometimes wonder how our forefathers lived, and think that the things we have in our daily lives would surely be nothing short of luxury: exotic foods and fruits, warm and comfortable clothing, washing machines, a car--basics in today's time, but our ancestors, no matter how wealthy, surely would be amazed. So, when I found the presentation above, it really resonated deeply...Reminds me of this saying of the Prophet Muhammed (SAW) that goes something like this:

Look up to one who is greater in piety so you strive to be like him and look upon one who is below you in material status so that you may be thankful to Allah's Grace.

So, What's New?

2006-04-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

Wow, I turn off the news for a few days, and I miss all the good stuff! So, apparently, the Capitol Hill PD are considering an arrest warrent for a member of Congress: Rep Cynthia McKinney was rushing for a House vote, stepped around a metal detector (that's not the violation) and allegedly poked a police officer in the chest with her cell phone (that's the problem). Now, apparently the Capitol Hill PD routinely does not recognize the female African American members of Congress, resulting in accusations of racial profiling being levied at the Capitol Hill police...and Cynthia McKinney might be charged with obstructing a police officer. How bizarre! How can they not recognize members of Congress? And now Congressman Tom Delay, who one would think has enough problems of his own, is calling McKinney a racist...but this here, from a Daily Show skit, is the best quote ever:

"Jon, it is about accountability. I think it is time for both McKinney and DeLay to look the American people in the eye and say, 'Why do you keep electing idiots like us?"

Exactly, why?!

Gullibility Test

2006-04-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

So I took this test to see how gullible I really am (gullible enough to do this test!), but it actually seems to test how well-informed one really is. My GF score was 79. (Out of a range of 0 - 100, where 0 = mind slave, and 100 = free thinker.) What is your score?

The Infamous Cartoons

2006-04-01T14:34:00.000-08:00

This is a very insightful article, regarding a certain type of hypocrisy and blatant attitude of couldn't-care-less over-taking the left in our nation. Well, at least our newspapers here in the States are not too eager to see Muslim passions needlessly inflamed. In other cartoon news, the Danish Muslims are organizing to sue the newspaper Jyllands-Posten Editor in Chief and Culture Editor for failing to adhere to laws protecting against racism or blasphemy, and other Muslims apparently are in desperate need for their Danish cheese.

Misplaced Priorities?

2006-03-31T15:44:00.000-08:00

I think so. I mean really, we pour billions annually into the space program, while at the same time whining about all these freeloaders on welfare, and then there are the millions of medically-uninsured who fall by the way-side. Really, the bigger freeloaders are the scientists at NASA, who take the taxpayer's money and launch shuttles for a $1 billion a pop with little to no regard for how that money could be better spent. Get real, and find real solutions to the problems we have on Earth, before attempting to expand our human selfishness across the galaxy. Get some sense of ethics and responsibility, and do something useful with our taxpayer dollars, for heaven's sake (pun not intended).

Are Protests Merely a Useless Focus Group?

2006-03-31T15:38:00.000-08:00

Human Rights Watch is urging the UAE government to address the rights of laborers who are helping turn the desert into a modern-day oasis. Apparently, the UAE is taking heed. After all, there just might be some important free trade agreements with the US, the EU, and Australia hanging in the balance now. In a previous article, the UAE firm embroiled in this scandalous sea of malaise and irresponsibility claimed that there were measures in place for workers to lodge complaints with the appropriate authorities, and as such, these people had no right to protest and riot. Well, rioting and causing damage usually wins little sympathy, but apparently it worked this time, because Human Rights Watch sat up and took notice.
So what exactly do these workers want? An Interior Ministry official who investigates labor issues, Lt. Col. Rashid Bakhit Al Jumairi, said the workers were petitioning Al Naboodah, one of the Emirates' biggest construction conglomerates, for overtime pay, better medical care and humane treatment by foremen. "They are asking for small things," Al Jumairi said. "I promised them I would sit with them until everything is settled." OK, very interesting...this list of needs are very small things indeed--so what has taken these wealthy corporations so long to wake up to the realization that these "small thing" should be delivered? Before you build tall buildings reaching the heavens, see what conditions you are providing for your lowly slaves on the ground!

And my God, I should not be amazed, but call it naivete: here is the Indian government leaving their own citizens out to dry! They actually have the nerve to say the workers were rioting not because of low/unpaid wages and poor working conditions; rather it "was a fallout of workers becoming restive after “standing in the long queue for punching time-cards”." Thank goodness for Human Rights Watch! Rant over...I promise...for now...

The World is No Match for Your Love

2006-03-30T15:10:00.001-08:00

This world is no match for your Love.
Being away from you
is death aiming to take my soul away.
My heart, so precious,
I won't trade for a hundred thousand souls.
Your one smile takes it for free.

Rumi

From: 'Hush Don't Say Anything to God: Passionate Poems of Rumi'

She Is Free!

2006-03-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

Ah, its so nice to have good news to read, isn't it? Jill Carroll, the Christian Science Monitor's reporter, was set free today.

What the ...

2006-03-29T14:33:00.000-08:00

...heck. Ok, so this should not really come as a surprise, but the Associated Press has just released a survey finding that swearing is on the rise. This is surely the result of people reading less, and thus being deprived of a suitable fountain of vocabulary to pull from to express the basic forms of human feeling: anger, amazement, angst, joy, grief. And then there are those who swear for no reason at all. What is up with that?

Undocumented and Unwanted...

2006-03-29T12:31:00.000-08:00

Could it be that only thing the world wants from its second-class human beings is hard labor? Funny, but when the Latin workers are picking strawberries, working on construction sites, and doing other tasks at wages not worthy of a legal citizen, nobody really makes a concerted complaint about their presence. But every once in a while, we hear about how "they are draining the system." If they were not part of the system, us legal citizens would be paying through our noses for a simple strawberry, or gallon of milk. And what is all this about them not giving anything back, not paying taxes? Are they exempt from sales taxes? I don't think so. How do we expect them to pay taxes on the paltry wages they earn? What makes us think there is enough left over from their wages to pay taxes. I know, I know, how dare they send money back home to their families who need it so badly. The nerve! Coming across the border...

Hey, wait a minute...

2006-03-28T11:58:00.000-08:00

So the situation with the migrant workers in the Middle East continues to make news. I neglected to think of the other side of the coin--what kind of situation in the home countries of these workers are they fleeing? India and Pakistan themselves have rather horrendous working conditions. If these countries would take the initiative to join the rest of the modern world in upgrading the status of their own laborers, these people would not be compelled to go abroad in the hope that the "grass will be greener." (I am aware the Middle East is not plentiful in grass, but you get my point?) While many of these laborers certainly must be aware of the terrible working conditions abroad, it is natural for the human psyche to believe nothing can be worse than my current situation, and that misfortune will not befall me. Human beings are hopeful creatures.

Since India and Pakistan can see their way around to joining the modern world in the nuclear race, then they are certainly capable of doing something to protect their working populations in a more constructive way.

Those Fine Arab...Heroes? Terrorists?

2006-03-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

So Brian Whitaker had an article about those fine desert Arabs and I am reading this thinking, who is more obsessed here: Arabs/Muslims with the West, or the West with the Arabs? I can't sort out this Orientalist quandry. Self-loving white folk! I love you guys, and I know you love the East, but really, stop with the exotification of the East. We are as normal and ordinary (in our own extraordinary way) as you. Those who live in the desert, I doubt their lives are as appealing as the novels make them out to be. And make up your minds already: are they terrorists or are they the heroes of your dreams? And if they are really savages, living like so, how on earth can this lifestyle be appealing to the civilized white woman? I am confused by the confusion of these authors of romance novels. Any insight would be appreciated.

Illegal Immigrants...

2006-03-26T20:00:00.000-08:00

...who come here and work for meager dollars; now they protest.

I am a Grateful Slave

2006-03-26T18:10:00.000-08:00

beautiful poem for the common man

The Crusades...

2006-03-26T18:03:00.000-08:00

...were actually a form of liberation. Smells of historical revisionism.

South Asians in the Middle East...

2006-03-26T12:58:00.000-08:00

...are finally making the world aware of the classism and racism they are subjected to in the Arab world. Its hard for me to understand how a nation of people who were the first recipients of the glory of Islam could degenerate into such racism. Islam was supposed to have taught us to honor the rights of all segments of society. How, when and why did racism/classism raise its ugly head among Muslims? And really, this is not intended to sound cruel, but if you are busy ill-treating those who are building your countries for you, for literally meager dollars a day, how on earth are you going to get the world to respect you? Rant over...for now.

Reading Wish List (#1)

2006-03-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

I have had these authors on my to-read list for the longest time:
Diana Abu Jaber
Laila Halaby
Laila Lalami (her blog can be found here)

So I plan on getting around to these books in the summer, hopefully...we will see!

If, a poem by Jalaludeen Rumi

2006-03-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

If you can disentangle
yourself from your selfish self
all heavenly spirits
will stand ready to serve you

If you can finally hunt down
your own beastly self
you have the right
to claim Solomon's Kingdom

You are that blessed soul who
belongs to the garden of paradise
is it fair to let yourself
fall apart in a shattered house

You are the bird of happiness
in the magic of existence
what a pity when you let
yourself be chained and caged

But if you can break free
from this dark prison named body
soon you will see
you are the sage and the fountain of life

translated by Nader Khalili

Hello World...

2006-03-24T22:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome to a space where the random thoughts, happy, unhappy, confused, and well-directed, of an ordinary mind can be dispersed to the digital world. I suspect this blog will surprise me more than anybody else! Well, I hope so anyway...

So who am I? Muslim American female, student of life and computer science, who loves to sew, read, learn new and applicable things about cultures/people and world issues. Yes, Muslims/Islam are in the midst of the current world issues. If I may offer my gentle opinion, it is not Islam that needs reforming, but Muslims themselves. Yes, myself included inshallah. :) As the Qur'an says, Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition. Surah Ar-Ra'd, Ayah 11

I also tend to be finnicky about grammar, so don't be too alarmed to find commas floating all over the place.

Voila, another blog is born! Smile!!!