Tariq Ramadan is a genius

Seriously. When the man talks, he just makes sense.

Is Islam in Need of Reformation? a lecture by Dr Tariq Ramadan


I'm also reading his book "In the Footsteps of the Prophet," which is excellent as well. I will put up a review when I'm done, I promise.

However, I am stuck midway through "Western Muslims and the Future of Islam." It's a little to academic-y for me at the moment. I think my brain has gone on strike after being in school for, oh 21 years straight. It's unfortunate, because this book is chock full of ideas that every muslim interested at all in the western portion of the ummah should know and be able to discuss.

Plan Would Replace Cairo's Calls to Prayer

Via NPR

Ok, there is a lot that could be changed in Cairo. Pollution control would be at the top of my list. Spend any time there, and you're sneezing black snot for weeks afterwards. Doing something about the piles of garbage all over the place is pretty high up there too.

Athan reform doesn't even crack the top 10. For a westerner, where religious sounds in the public sphere are limited to church bells ringing on Sunday, to live in Cairo and be surrounded by religious sounds 24 hours a day is something almost magical. When it is time to pray, and athans echo from all corners of the city, I can't help but fall silent and appreciate the sounds. Ok, maybe it's not quite magical when the athans are all amplified to the point of distortion, but those echoing calls to prayer are part of what makes Cairo Cairo.

If I had a magic wand, I would wave it and replace the distorted microphoned calls with natural voices calling. After all, you don't need to inform people half a mile away that it's prayer time in your masjid, because there are probably 5 mosques that are closer where it's also prayer time.

Plus, now with the athan possibly coming from the radio, everyone will crank up their radios to the point of distortion, and it won't be pretty anyways.





Damascus Maghrib Athan



Cairo Asr Athan


And, the athan from the Hussein Mosque in Cairo. Oh, I had issues with this mosque here. The women's section isn't anything to write home about, but the men's section is beauuuutiful. I wanted to go inside for some pictures, but the shoe guys wouldn't let me in. dur. I had a brief argument with them with my husband translated, but alas, I didn't persuade them. What really got me though, was that there were plenty of male (presumably non muslim) tourists inside. Dur!

"Never do I argue with a man with a desire to hear him say what is wrong, or to expose him and win victory over him. Whenever I face an opponent in debate I silently pray - O Lord, help him so that truth may flow from his heart and on his tongue, and so that if truth is on my side, he may follow me; and if truth be on his side, I may follow him." --Imam Al-Shafi'i


Found this quote on the Zaytuna website today. Definately food for thought.

Anger

One of my favorite all time pieces of Islamic Advice is a piece from Sunnipath called Don't Get Angry. Alhamdulilah, I've read it so often, that I actually apply it's advice now. Amazing how that works, isn't it?

As mentioned earlier, I used to post often on CF. I popped in a few times this last week and posted re: the 6 imams at the Minneapolis airport situation. I definately got to put the advice about anger into practice on these threads. How does one respond to drivil like this? Or this?

At this point, I'm putting advice number 2 into good use:

2. Silence. Do not say anything when angry, lest it contravene the Sacred Law,
or go against your personal or social interests. The Messenger of Allah (Allah
bless him & give him peace) said, “If you get angry, stay silent.” [Ahmad]

I'd would like to provide a cool, rational response to these people, to show them that muslims are not a cancer, that we're ordinary people who simply live to please their Lord. But, sometimes it's hopeless. *sigh*

A thought

It is related from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "One of the Prophets alighted under a tree and an ant bit him and he commanded that his bags be removed from under the tree and then he commanded the ant colony be burned. Allah revealed to him, 'Was it not just a single ant?'

http://www.sunnipath.com/Resources/PrintMedia/Hadith/H0002P0063a.aspx


What do you read from this? I see that we are not to take revenge against a whole for the actions of a few. I wish muslims would approach Islam as a whole, and impliment it as a whole.

Finally

First off, let me just state I'm CAIR neutral. I may or may not volunteer for CAIR MN to get a better feel for the organization, but my interactions with them thus far haven't been too hot. I greatly appreciate their Muhammad Asad Qur'an program, but I was deeply disappointed with the political worship they put on at my University, where the CAIR political person admitted that he just figured out how the electoral college worked, so he could explain it all to us *rolls eyes* I also wasn't happy when I asked this political person how one gets a job at CAIR. He said that he was interning on the Hill (aka the Capital) and hobnobbed with CAIR people at jummah prayer. Umm, ok, so how can someone who (a) doesn't have mommy and daddy to help pay for an internship on the Hill, and as such can't and (b) is a woman, so can't really hobnob with the guys after prayers, get a job with CAIR? He didn't have an answer.

Ok, now on to the thing I was actually going to post about

Anti-CAIR accusations have been flying around the internet for ages. A few months ago, I emailed them asking for something to counter these accusations. No response. Dur. Today though, I stumbled on a list that counters the common accusations. Alhamdulilah. Of course, it would have been nice if they had emailed it to me. You know, save the emails of people asking how they can help your organization and actually responding to them would be a good idea.

Hijabed running

Finding proper running attire for a hijabi is a never ending quest. Running isn't a sport known for modest apperal. Runners tend to peel off layers as it gets hotter, ending up in short shorts and a sports bra. For hijabis, that's not really an option, unless you're running inside on a treadmill. And, I'm not a big fan of teadmill running. I prefer the great outdoors, and running in road races. Running slowly, I should hasten to add, but still running never the less.

I'm constantly adding and subtracting pieces from my wardrobe. This past weekend, I went running shoe shopping (yaay, new shoes!), and found what may be the perfect hijabi running shirt, at least for a person my size. It's a men's Mizuno Renegade VI XL long sleeve shirt, very very lightweight, in grey with green stripes. They had the same shirt in white with blue stripes, but alas, white tends to be a little see through. The best part is that it was clearenced. $19.99, huzzah! *side note* While searching for a picture to add to this post, I found a bunch more of this style. *must...stop...self...from...buying...more*

I like to shop in the men's section for shirts instead of in the women's section for one reason - fit. Women's sports tops tend to be very fitted, tight across the chest, and stop above the hips. Men's shirts tend to be looser all around, AND if you buy them large enough, they hang down to mid-thigh. If you're like me, you'll have to shorten the sleeves, but it's better than running in a long sleeve cotton shirt. I'd been doing that recently at the gym. Yuck! The sweat clings to the shirt, you get stinky, and you're never cool.


Here's my current running outfit:



Lycra Al Amirah in black or grey from HijabWorld - while the lycra is much better than cotton (wet soggy mess), it's still a little hot. I may expirment soon with wearing a buff as the underscarf part




Mizuno Renegade VI shirt



Black and Grey Capris from Target. Because I have such short, stubby legs, at my current pants size, capris are as long as regular pants for me. inshaAllah when (if) I lose weight, I'll fit length wise in regular sports pants.

Aaaaand, my new babies, my new shoes - Mizuno Women's Inspire 3. I *heart* them. My feet *heart* them. My toes *heart* them. I picked out my last pair of shoes myself. Baaaad idea. I didn't know anything about overprotinating, supinating, support, control, and whatnot. I picked out what was comfy on the clearence rack of DSWs. If you're considering running, do yourself a favor and head over to a specialty running shop. Have a knowledgable salesperson fit your feet and get a shoe that supports your foot type. Your feet will thank you.


If anyone out there is a hijab-ed runner, drop me a line. I'd like to find other muslimahs out there who run.

To do:

Must write a post to enter in Umm Zaid's the sisters' space blog carnival.

Need topic ideas. I am currently obsessed with running/exercise. And I love dhikr. Hmmm...

Ow!

A word of advice:

Never make up a dozen prayers in a row and then go out for a run. My thighs still hurt 2 days later.

Random Musing

I'm on a roll today blog posting wise.

There are a few muslims out in blogistan who reside in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Nzingha and almiskeenah are both on my daily blog list. My hat, er scarf, off to them. The husband lived in Saudia when he was younger, and dreams of moving there someday. I'm a big fan of independently moving around and driving myself. I don't think I would do so well there.

But...I was thinking today. If there was a women's only gym in Mecca or Medina, I could definately live there. Being able to pray 5 times a day at the Prophet's masjid or in the Haram, and then going off to exercise...now that would be the way to live!