SD’s Corner

That up there, ladies and gentlemen, is the first stop light upon entering my city back home; which I will pass through in the next few days Insha’Allah. That will leave me with a few days to taste the Ramadan spirit back in Saudi Arabia; the food, the evenings, the prayers, the whole atmosphere; did I mention the food?

It would certainly be different from what we have here in Malaysia. Living in a bachelor pad, one can only dream about all those delicacies and mouth watering aromas that used to leak out of their mother’s kitchen. Although the boys and I are somewhat good cooks, laziness overcomes us after those hectic days, leaving us with no energy to step into the kitchen, let alone start preparing breakfast. That leaves us with either the Indian, Malaysian, or Yemeni restaurants close by where the foods are prepared in haste in order to keep up with the hoard of customers during the peak hours right before Maghrib prayer, compromising the food’s quality and often being oily; something my system isn’t fond of.

That being said, I wish you all a happy Eid in advance. Do visit your relatives, friends, and sick ones, and spread the love…

No one is free when others are oppressed.

I’ve noticed a trend in some Muslims living in Western nations during Ramadan. Come the holy month, one can observe that they’re afraid to show their religion openly and some even go to lengths to hide their fasting. I’ve observed in some, and heard it from others, and this desire to hide Islam does not serve them well.

A young friend of mine confessed to how she has a hard time dealing with Ramadan. She and her friends frequently eat lunch together and come lunchtime, she doesn’t have it in her to tell them she’s fasting so she makes up a story that she’s joined something new; last year it was the library I think. Considering her situation, I had no choice but to advise her that she must tell her friends the truth, rather than keeping her religious duty a secret and avoiding all the questions they might ask her.

For one, aside from this being a Da’wah opportunity, being frank and open with her friends and observing their reactions will show her just how much they respect her as a friend. Two, through her, they can ask her any questions regarding Islam and receive first-hand information rather than hearing all sorts of stories from the media. Most importantly, she’ll be able to practice her religion more freely rather than suppress it every time she’s around her friends.

Another case is that of the workplace. As some of you can relate, many feel that practicing their religion in a non-Muslim dominated workplace is quite a challenge; not from others, but from within themselves. Little do they know that usually their co-workers will be more than willing to offer them whatever they require, such as a room to pray in. Fortunately, most Muslims I know are respected at work and are even provided with a clean space to perform their obligatory prayers. An example would be an uncle of mine, who while under the watchful eyes of his superiors, and while trying to obtain a much sought after position with lots of competition, still put up Ramadan decorations made by his little kids on his office door for all to see. Subtle, yet thoughtful, since that reminds his colleagues that he’s fasting. Needless to say, all he got was respect.

Yes, I understand; initially it might be difficult and somewhat uncomfortable to do at first, but eventually you’ll wish you’d done that earlier in your life. It’s 30 days out of 365, 4 weeks out of the 52, a single month in the year in which the gates of hell are closed and we are given a chance to invest in spiritual growth and commit ourselves to Allah. Islam is not just a practice; it’s a way of life. And you shouldn’t hide it.

Keep strong M.

Ramadan Kareem brothers and sisters!

 Not the way to spend your Ramadan…

Anyone who knows me understands that I’ve been into cars ever since I was 5. Although not my only hobby, it is by far the one I’m most passionate about. Most of my pocket money since my freshman year at high school was spent on fuel. I was and still am as much an addict to driving as the Insider is to gossip and knowing what a certain celeb drank last night.

And then just as I was thinking about what car to buy once I’m officially on my own, Lamborghini dashes my dreams by unveiling this machine. This is by far the best Italian sports car I have ever seen. With all that geometric symphony, it makes me love math all over again. Not only does the design look like something a fighter jet designer would have made; the instrument panel itself looks like a fighter jet HUD; and probably goes undetected by radar as well!

The perfect morning would be to wake up with this Lambo in the garage right next to my Jeep and mountain bike. But with a price tag of $1 million, that dream will stay put on hold for the mean time. Now to wait and see which rapper rents it first and slaps on some custom rims with spinners in his latest video…

Glaciers must have melted since my last post. Two, nearly three month hiatus. In case you don’t have your abacus with you, that’s nearly 100 days, which is quite remarkable for me. One would be inclined, even expected to give some sort of reason or excuse for being away for so long; but let’s not get into that.

Friends got married, others graduated; bloggers disappeared, while new ones surfaced; friends went on holidays and came back with pictures and stories, while some of us slaved with our projects and tasks. There’s so much to write about, but I first have to catch up on the blogs I used to frequent to see what’s new in other people’s neck of the woods.

On a much different note, here’s what might become one of the best Somali websites around. Compared to the other sites springing up every once a while, this one actually looks drool worthy…but time will tell.

Resembles your average commute on a Saudi freeway - minus the decals

A recent Arabnews article brought back certain memories. Having spent quite some time driving in Malaysia, I have somehow forgotten the many driving experiences and close calls I’ve had on Saudi roads.

It’s been a long one since I’ve last had time to blog. It’s partly due to exam season now being in full swing. Due to that, I won’t be posting much until exams are over.

Till then, I leave you with a question.

Every night I sleep with a new hope for a peaceful Darfur, with the families of those like Ibrahim having the right to a safe return and a compensation for all they have been through by not only the Sudanese government, but the rest of the Islamic world, for clearly ignoring their cries. Each night, I rest on my pillow with a new hope for a peaceful Somalia, with the clans putting aside their insignificant tribal differences and realizing they have more in common with each other than a Hassawi and a Hijazi. Every night, I close my eyes with a new hope to open them the next morning with news of a liberated Palestine. Every night I sleep with a new hope that the next morning will not start with another report of a bomb in Iraq, where Mohammed, Abbas, and Ali have been reduced to nothing but mere statistics.

But every morning I wake up with that hope flickering like a candle in the wind, and the breeze is picking up.

How much hope is left in you?

Just came back to Kuala Lumpur a couple of days back to meet some friends and pick up my cousin from the airport. There’s a lot going around lately, especially the various races that will take place at the Sepang Intl’ Circuit from 6-8 April, which I hopefully won’t miss. Lots of rubber, lots of noise, lots of speed; just my kind of holiday. And obviously, I’m with the BMW Sauber Team McLaren-Mercedes Team. Then there’s the Kanye West tour next week, which I’ll certainly miss (not much of a music fan).

Due to that, and a few other things, I won’t be online for the next few weeks. And on a much lighter note, I have some sad news for those expecting me back in Sharqiya this summer: I won’t be able to come.

Till then ciao…

Word Up: Muhammad Karim has left for Doha, Qatar to attend Al Jazeera’s Third Annual Media Forum. He’ll be covering the topics and issues discussed at the conference, not to mention trying to interview scholars and other notables.Sadly, some of us can’t attend, but you can still raise any questions or issues you have by dropping him a comment HERE and he’ll try to get as many of them addressed.

Good luck bro…

Everyone who knows me personally understands how sensitive I can get when it comes to the media and how it portrays certain races.

The media; whether it be an ad, the news, or movies, always has a way of ticking me off with some un-needed bias. Is it possible for those in control of the media to be so ignorant about how images of certain races are projected by the very program or channel they run? I honestly don’t think so. I dare you to name me a few Hollywood movies that portray Blacks, Arabs, or Hispanics in good light as intelligent or non-violent people. At the same time, try finding a TV commercial in which a minority is projected without stereotyping.

A friend of mine in networking showed me a certain ad and thought I might love it due to its creativity. It had a hint of creativity, but loving it was far from how I felt. Little did she know that it would spark a whole discussion regarding the issue of racial portrayal in the media.

The ad showed a Black boy around his preteen years standing in a kitchen when a Black man comes in and walks toward him with what appeared to be a high tech camera. The man tells the kid to do something ‘cool‘ and the kid instantly starts dancing and wiggling to the camera. We then see people from across the globe literally running to their screens, whether it is their PCs, PDAs, or TVs to see this little Black kid dance around a kitchen. What a marvel!

Tell me…why is the kid dancing?

Black people, just like any other group of people, consist of different people with numerous talents. Why did the ad have to associate the Black kid with dancing? Why couldn’t they portray the kid as a little genius explaining his Science Fair project over the camera to groups of students and teachers from other schools? Why couldn’t they show the kid fixing his toy remote controlled car? Why couldn’t they depict the kid as a finalist in a math knowledge bowl challenging other contenders via video link? Why in the world couldn’t they show the Black man as some sort of professional using the same camera to have an international conference with other doctors while at the same time communicating with his wife and kids?

The possibilities and ideas are endless…but they had to make the kid dance. Then again, I’m guessing that if anything, the guys who made that commercial thought they were doing a good job by actually putting a Black kid on TV. I bet they had no second thought as to how it would make him look. I’m sure a generous lofty reward was handed out to whoever dreamed up the idea of bringing a little Black kid who happens to dance and slapping on some groovy music to go along with his moves. And to think they spent millions of dollars for that ad. Ignorance is bliss.

This post is to be continued…