The Life and Times of a Muslimah
Okay, I’m really excited because yesterday was the first time that I can recall in recent memory that I achieved my 5 servings of fruits and vegetables in a day. I had 3 servings of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables. Have you gotten your 5 A DAY? I did 30 minutes of exercise as well. So on that front it was a good day.
Working on my physical health to improve my mental health.
Umm Ebraheem
I love to cook. The one difficulty with the chefs that I like to follow is their love of cooking with wine. It limits the recipes that I can follow, even though you can sometimes substitute the wine with broth I am sure there is something lost in the substitution. So, my new idea is to try my hand at Indian cuisine. What I need is a good starter cookbook for Indian food. I have heard that Thai food is good too but it tends to be spicy and I’m not sure my husband would be up for that. If there are any suggestions on a good Indian cuisine cookbook leave a comment. I’d love some first hand suggestions, something you’ve had success with.
Umm Ebraheem
I have been thinking on some things to write in my blog and decided to come here and post a few thoughts I have been having recently. As a habit before I post anything I check out my stats to see if there have been any visitors and I saw that I have 2 subscribers. Wow, subscribers! While I only have a vague sense of what that means, I wanted to welcome you aboard. I unfortunately lean towards the homebody, slightly boring type and therefore my blog can sometimes go for lengthy periods without posts. InshaAllah (by Allah’s permission) that won’t drive you away. I feel a new dedication to you, my subscribers, and I will endeavor to be less boring!!!
Umm Ebraheem
Below is an article I found that shows that the war on Muslim women is raging on not only in Western countries like France but in Muslim countries as well. InshaAllah, Egypt will not go the same way that Turkey has in banning the hijab (veil). We as Muslim women must stay strong and not let nonbelievers tell us we must go naked in the street so they can feel safer. Terrorist will always find a way to carry out their evil plans and undressing Muslim women is not going to put a stop to it. The continual attack on any influence from Saudi Arabia is always so prevalent in these types of articles. The prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, his family and his companies) is from the exact place that nonbelievers like to bash and then they say they don’t have a problem with Islam. Most of the times when their arguments are weak and the transpanrency of their argument is easily seen it is hard to believe they are not fighting directly against Islam. Always, the attack is on the women. Go after the women and societies fall. It is an old tactic. They want Muslims to conform to their way of thinking and shroud it in talk of modernization and Westernization. Islam fits into modern times well enough without changing. Instead of trying to undress the likes of women like me under the guise of saving me from an oppression I am not suffering I would suggest that Westernized women look at themselves and ask if their need to be so over exposed is really something they do “for themselves.”
CAIRO (Reuters) – Rokaya Mohamed, an elementary school teacher, would rather die than take off her face veil, or niqab, thrusting her to the forefront of a battle by government-backed clerics to limit Islamism in Egypt.
Egypt’s state-run religious establishment wants teachers like Mohamed to remove their veils in front of female students, sparking a backlash by Islamists who say women should be able to choose to cover their faces in line with their Islamic faith.
“I have put on the niqab because it is a Sunna (a tradition of the Muslim prophet Muhammad). It is something that brings me closer to religion and closer to the wives of the Prophet who used to wear it,” she said.
“I know what makes God and his prophet love me, and no sheikh is going to convince me otherwise. I would rather die than take it off, even inside class,” she added.
Egypt, the birthplace of al Qaeda’s second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri, fought a low-level Islamist insurgency in the 1990s, has faced sporadic militant attacks targeting tourists since then, and is keen to quell Islamist opposition ahead of parliamentary elections next year and a 2011 presidential vote.
The spread of the niqab, associated with the strictest interpretations of Islam, is a potent reminder to the government of the political threat posed by any Islamist resurgence emanating from the Gulf, where many young Egyptians go to work.
Controversy over the niqab flared last month after the state-appointed head of Egypt’s al-Azhar mosque asked a young student to remove her face veil during a visit to her school.
Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar Mohamed Sayed Tantawi later issued a religious edict or fatwa barring women and girls from wearing the niqab in all-girl Azhari schools, saying there was no reason for girls to cover their faces amongst themselves.
An Azhari research center later backed the ruling, saying the face veil should be removed when a girl is in an all-female class with women teachers, in all-female exam rooms, and in all-female dormitories.
Egyptian state-run media have also called for women to show their faces, citing the “damaging” effects of niqab on society.
GULF INFLUENCE
While a majority of Egyptian women and girls consider it an Islamic religious obligation to cover their hair and neck with a scarf, few Muslim scholars say the full face veil is mandatory.
Yet growing numbers of Egyptian women are abandoning the simple headscarf in favor of the niqab, analysts say, reflecting the growing sway of strict Saudi-based Wahhabi ideology on an already conservative and Islamized society.
“It increased mainly because of the major influence from the Gulf. This habit is not from the heart of Egyptian society. It is imported from the Gulf,” political analyst Hala Mustafa said.
“(Extremism) has been increasing in Egyptian society for the past 30 years and therefore Egyptians are accepting more extremism and becoming more closed off,” she said.
Egypt, unlike other Muslim states Saudi Arabia and Iran, does not require women to cover their heads with a scarf. But the millions of Egyptians who have lived or worked in Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia are believed to be a source for the spread of Wahhabi ideology.
Just 30 years ago, women attended Egypt’s flagship Cairo University wearing miniskirts and sleeveless tops. They strolled along the beaches of Alexandria in skimpy swimsuits at a time when society was seemingly more liberal and tolerant.
Analysts say the headscarf, or hijab, was seen as a status indicator and was prevalent among lower-income classes. Women from upper and middle classes rarely veiled at a young age and those who did usually followed fashionable interpretations of hijab. The niqab was uncommon at that time.
NIQAB MORE PREVALENT
But the niqab has become more prevalent. Women in flowing black robes are a common sight strolling through Egypt’s fanciest shopping malls and five-star hotels, as well as in shanties.
Analysts say challenging the stricter interpretations of Islam could be a long journey that requires, in particular, introducing reforms on an educational system that has allowed women in niqab to teach small children.
“These decisions have to be accompanied with ideological procedures and requires challenging the ideology so there will be moderate ideology,” Mustafa said.
Egyptian courts have a history of ruling in favor of women wearing niqab inside universities. In 2007, a court ruled that the American University in Cairo, seen as a bastion of Western liberal education in Egypt, was wrong to bar a female scholar who wears niqab from using its facilities. The court cited personal and religious freedom as grounds for its ruling.
Ordinary Egyptians on the streets of Cairo have conflicting feelings regarding the niqab. Some say it should be banned on security grounds because it can be used by criminals to disguise themselves and escape police searches.
Others hail it as the right way to fulfill religious duties or as the best way to protect women from sexual harassment, although a recent study showed veiling had little effect on harassment rates in Egypt.
“When a man cannot see a woman, then what is he going to harass her for? Nothing,” said Abu Donya, a taxi driver, whose views are shared by many Egyptians. “So imagine if all women wear niqab, things would be better,” he said.
(Editing by Dominic Evans)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091102/lf_nm_life/us_egypt_niqab
I don’t know if I am being adversely affected by all the healthcare talk I’m listening to or if my actual experiences with my healthcare providers is making me such a cynic. What I do know is that I am one more bad feeling away from completely dumping the Duke Healthcare System and moving over to the UNC Chapel Hill system. I’ve just dumped my primary care provider and I will be picking up a different provider at the end of the month. I was close to dumping my gynecologist because I did not feel that her office staff was handling my appointments properly.
I found this on another blog and wanted to bring it over here because I thought it was so funny. Enjoy!
Knowing True Islaam is having a program tomorrow on their radio program at 5:30 pm EST tomorrow (Sunday, October 4, 2009). If you have questions about Islam, want to get those questions answered or are just curious about what Islam is then take an hour and listen to the radio show. The speaker is a native Arabic speaker and will be translated so don’t worry that you might not understand what he is saying. Everything will be translated and there should be time for questions at the end of the talk. Click the link below or on the side to get to Knowing True Islaam’s radio program.
Official Decision and Announcement of the High Judiciary Council of Saudi Arabia… Just a short time ago, Fatwa-Online was informed of the official decision and announcement of the High Judiciary Council of Saudi Arabia that since the moon of Shawwaal was sighted this evening, here in Saudi Arabia, we shall be completing twenty nine (29) days of Ramadhaan (1430 A.H.), in accordance with the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (sal-Allaahu `alayhe wa sallam): ((Fast when you see the crescent. If it is obscured to you, then complete thirty days of Sha’baan. And break your fast when you see the crescent. If it is obscured to you then fast thirty days)), [transmitted by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim]. Subsequently, we shall be celebrating ‘Eed al-Fitr on Sunday 20th September 2009, inshaa.-Allaah. |
Al Maun, which is a wonderful charity that helps Muslim families who have fallen on hard times, is in a competition to win money so that they can continue to give to those in need. InshaAllah, they need to collect 2000 hits on this youtube video in order to get the money. Please click on the link below and see the nice video they made that explains their organization. A few minutes of your time can help many families. The deadline is the last day of Ramadan. May Allah accept the fast of the Muslims and accept our good deeds, Ameen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0sDs3CYUpM
During a question and answers session with one of the Ulema (scholars of Islam), a questioner on AlBaseerah.org, a popular Islamic website, asked if being a medical transcriptionist was haram (forbidden). They then went on to explain to the sheikh that what a medical transcriptionists does is type files that go to insurance companies. Read the rest of this entry »
