moonsightings

ISNA has some issues to deal with. people thinking they saw the moon is not a problem. there are always people who sincerely think they see it. its no problem to start one day before or after other muslims who have a difference of opinion. diversity is what makes Islam beautiful. just for fun...we could ask, who at ISNA gave the greenlight to declare it when there is still doubt? and why? It's a problem when an organization creates a policy and then doesn't follow through. here's what I think is going on... ISNA was poised in the 90s to make a shift. from a link in a global islamic movement to a service organization for the Muslim minority in America. and the creation of the moon sighting policy can be seen as part of that shift. i would like to believe that there was a desire to provide that service which all local masjids need, to help muslims practice one of the pillars of islam, through one body in order to take advantage of limited resources and a network of masjids... it's probably muslim unity that drives their actions. remnents of the idea to unify to establish an islamic state... on the other hand, ISNA could have evolved in the past few years, it's actions could be be driven by a different notion now, one based on the unity of a minority in order to ensure rights, or prevent isolation and retain an identity. But there is a pressure at ISNA to keep it from straying from the movement. That pressure manifests in its defense of wahhabism, its apparent desire to follow the Saudis on Ramadan and Eid for "Muslim unity", and its attempt to craft a program for youth recruitment. Maybe a day will come when it makes the shift. Until then we'll have more confusion at moonsighting time. peace.

i love hialeah

here's an event that shaped me into who i am. its one of the earliest earliest. from elementary school. abu dropped me off one day in his rolls royce. i don't remember exactly when it was, but i remember there being a point in my life when other children began refering to me as the rich kid. "bro, you got a rolls? are you rich?" i guess i became aware of wealth and what is expected of those who have wealth. i became aware of where i lived. i was expected to live at a certain type of house in a certain place. apparently it was strange for me "the kid with the rolls" to be living in this neighborhood. but i liked our house. i liked my friends and neighbors. i didn't want to see them as beneath me in any way. i never quite understood it.... a random thought: The U.S. is extremely race concious. there is much racism. it manifests in many ways. one of them is "white flight." as people of color start to live in any particular area the white people start leaving. well, the place were we live used to be white. the more spanish speakers that moved here, the more the whites people moved out. it is sad that many indo-pak immigrants also suffer from such bigotry. race and economic class blinds them also. they forget that they too are people of color.... so, anyways not only was i living in an area that was not appropriate for wealth. but it was also more hispanic. i like where i live. the more that my pakistani friends looked down upon hispanic americans and where i lived, the more proud i became of being from here. the city of hialeah.

MAS and the brotherhood

some thoughts on MAS(Muslim American Society). most of what i know is through people who were on the inside. i was not. MAS did not come from nowhere. from the outside it may appear that in the past few years chapters sprang up everywhere. but most of the ingredients for these chapters were already there. there was the secret stuff that we don't know about. and then there is stuff like national conventions held through MAYA and educational halaqas held through Peace Net. When the decision was made to come out. There was no more reason to work through MAYA or Peace Net. The leaders of MAS Youth Division are the same people who led Peace Net. They believe in something. They are organized. They are active. They always have been. most are good people. most are sincere. but they are sectretive. who knows what they conspire to do. the problem is that the MAS masses often don't know what the real agenda is. I wonder if a parent would let their child be involved in (and recruited through MAS Youth Division) if told that the child will be indoctrinted with the ideology of the "global islamic movement" crowd... if they knew beforehand that the child will come home with books which will reinforce US vs. THEM, Islam vs. THE Evil WEST, the need for Islam to be enforced in government, the need to purify Islam of innovations, etc. etc. and that the child will become someone who will defend and uphold wahhabism. That is why i think they are dangerous. The seeds for violence against WEST and considering other Muslims to be outside the religion are planted. Sure the Ikhwan are not as extreme as other Salafis when it comes to their actions. But they are Salafi. Salafi lite. They are moralists. But they are also a political movement. They take advantage of the social problems of the day. They feed the fears of the parents. and they use that fear to recruit young people into the movement. i say they are sincere because most do it unconsciously. most really believe their own hype. this doesn't mean that they are all conservative. some are more modern. there was an attempt to reform American Ikhwan. When the reform effort failed, there was a change in leadership in American Ikhwan. this all happened in the late 90's. it paved the way for the way MAS operates today.

a lack of comunication

sitting on the phone for a half hour to engage in a meaningfull conversation is great. but its difficult for me to do it often.... maybe for a relationship to develop there needs to be constant chit chat. lots of back and forth calling. or e-mailing. i guess it helps create an emotional bond between two people. flirting helps too. i don't know how to do it.... the problem is i don't talk much on the phone or e-mail. its just how i am. and when, in each conversation or e-mail i see an apprehensiveness to marriage, it makes be believe that i have a hard task ahead of me. my busy schedule of work and school makes time go by very fast. before i know it its friday. this last month was very busy. i have been out of town on three weekends... so it becomes very hard for me to spend time chit chating.... i have no problems with getting married. sure, i figured i would have to find out about my future bride before marriage. and she would have to find out more about me. but i didn't expect to have to counter pessimism. i've tried, but i doubt my abilities. but i am getting to know her.... i try to be optimistic. i try to envision success. but its very hard. i start losing interest if i see the most important ingredient, her optimism, is outside of my control. i start thinking that maybe i should back off, to give her more time. i think for a succesful relationship. both must start out optimistic about the outcome. we all know about the importance of the first impression. the first impression i got from our very first conversation about marriage was that she was pessimistic about marriage in general and each subsequent conversation only reinforced this. not a good sign..... i must admit that in the beginning i was ready. but her doubts are making me hessitate. this is one area in my life that i did not want hesitation. its a bad sign for me. i need reassurance from her that she wants marriage. that she thinks a marriage can be successful. i know we have to find out about each other. but its not good sign if the first thing she tells me is that marriage to a surgeon ends in failure. i have seen successful marriages to surgeons. i know its difficult, and i am open minded. but, she sees failure. so, until i am reassured about this critical item.... maybe this is the cause of my lack of communication. maybe it led to my pace slowing down even more than usual. i started waiting for her to contact me. i want her to want to do this. anyways, i do want to know more about her... her life; her likes and dislikes; what she lives for; what makes her happy; what makes her sad; what types of friends she has; her biggest accomplishments; her biggest dissapointments; we can spread this out over a series of phone calls and e-mails, deal with one at a time or all at once. what ever she wants.... anyways, we must find out about each other. but, i don't know if finding out about each other will help solve the big problem i'm facing. the problem is that she is basically going to be looking for something about me to like and then force herself to get into a marriage that she don't want. i will see many things about her that help me understand her, but will remain unsure if she wants to get married. i was the same a few years ago. i was unsure about marriage. i didn't know if i wanted it. but now i want it. i want to find the right woman. that right woman must also want it. then she must want me. maybe she is that person. it would be great if she is.