I never see a picture of clubbing hijabis, why not?

Yo yo yo,
What's up my homies...

Anyway the poll closed a bajillion years ago but I was caught up with school, sue me.

Buutt last week, I issued a poll about why aren't there pictures of clubbing hijabis? Are they all too smart to post their embarrassing drunk escapades to the entire world via google? Maybe.


We all know the standard answer is, no DANCING IS THE DEVIL'S FUN!

Yet,I gotta disagree, it's a great cardio workout ALONE or with your muslim gal pals. And 11 -cough- half of the number I expected-cough- of you voiced your opinionsss. Of course, the majority said Dancing is haram -in public- which I totally agree with, but who are you that voted for "I don't look in the right places" TELL ME!

But those pictures better not be disturbing.

Oh and I'm sure you're thinking, why the hell would she need a picture like that? The third option on the poll answers that. It'd be such a cool picture like those still photos (duh all photos are still) of like a couple hijabis with there arms all up in the air jumping and flashing neon lights in the background bouncing off their sequin/metallic hijabs and sunglasses or silver eyeshadow.

Just something for me to think about and one day make an imitation of in the privacy of my own home!

Have you Bin Clubbin?

"Huh? What about Gaza?!"

Circa 1 month ago:

People were shouting in the streets yelling for their fellow brethren and sister-en in Gaza. A plaza resembled a sea of black and white due to all of the shmeghs. Fundraisers were being held and Muslims were much more eager to empty out their pockets to such a cause.

Now:
Everyone is snuggled back in the comfort of their day to day activities, Gaza a thing of the past. Shmeghs are tucked away until the next humanitarian crisis, including those posters.

What is wrong with us? Have we seriously forgotten about those still suffering in Gaza or are willingly forgetting? If not with our hands or tongue then with our hearts, to make Du'a to insha'allah change the situation there. There will never be a complete cease-fire nor independence if we, as an Ummah, only step up when someone gets killed. We must try to prevent even a single soul from being lost.

However, I had intended to write this post a week ago, but like the rest of the Ummah I suffered from ADD (not literally) as described in this article which jolted me from my forgetfulness:
Taken from www.muslimmatters.org
Patient: The Ummah. Diagnosis: Attention Deficit Disorder


It’s a sad reality that as an Ummah, we suffer from a severe case of attention deficit disorder - metaphorically speaking, that is. We have incredibly short attention spans, re-programmed to move on from one heartrending crisis to another. Somalia, Darfur, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq… a great calamity occurs, and we respond with tears and prayers and cries of grief, and then something else happens and we gradually forget about it and move onto the next worry.

Think about it - how many weeks ago did the Gaza crisis occur? Yet how quickly has it faded from our minds? It saddens me to know that we are so easily swayed, so swiftly distracted.

However, there’s something I learned from the Gaza Crisis and how we reacted to it. WalAhamdulillaah, many of us were reminded that the evil that befalls us is only what we have earned with our own hands, and we responded accordingly. We woke up for qiyaam al-layl, we fasted Mondays and Thursdays, we renewed our sincerity and strengthened our emaan and perfected our ‘ebaadah.

So when we see how forgot about Palestine, when the urgency of the situation faded from our minds to just another fuzzy memory, and we moved onto something else… it’s sad. It’s tragic, actually. At the same time, however, I realize that this is part of human nature: we are forgetful. We have a bad case of collective memory loss. The story of the people of Egypt and the plagues demonstrates this more clearly than anything else - how many times did Musa (’alayhis-salaam) warn them? How many times were they punished, with locusts and lice, frogs and blood? Each time, they felt fear and turned towards the Messenger of Allah beseechingly; each time they were relieved of the torment they went back to their old ways.

Mind you, this isn’t an acceptable excuse. Rather, it is something which we must learn to change. It’s time that we take heed from the warnings of the Qur’an, from the stories of the past, and the continued tribulations of our present. It is time that we retain the lessons that we learned so painfully during the Ghazzah massacre, and apply them to whichever drama comes to our attention next. Whether it’s Iraq and Afghanistan again, or (laa samahAllah) a new country and a new disaster, maybe we’ll remember again that this is all our fault and that it’s up to us to work hard to deserve better.

Imagine how amazing it would be if we could all remember that for every disaster that befalls us, we are to blame as individuals, and if the anger and guilt we feel at every injustice was constantly channeled to the right outlet: our emaan and ‘ebaadah.

SubhanAllah, will Allah ever ignore the deeds of His sincere believing slaves? Will He ever turn away from the sincere repentance of one, of tens, of hundreds, of thousands of believing souls? Will He leave the people who strive to change the situations of their souls? Laa wAllah! Indeed, He has promised us the very opposite, and the promise of Allah is truer than anything else.

So will YOU seek the cure to your spiritual illness? Will you take the divine prescription, that is guaranteed to strengthen you as no antibiotic or steroid ever could?

Patient: The Ummah

Diagnosis: Attention Deficit Disorder

Prescription:

* Contemplation, remembrance, and reflection: Every day, during any spare minute. Don’t be hasty; allow time for true comprehension and understanding.
* Tawbah (Repentance): Prepare with sincerity and humility. Flavour with tears. Best taken in the last third of the night, along with qiyaam al-layl.
* ‘Ebaadah (Worship): Salaah, 5 times a day, every day (minimum). Increase sweetness with sunan and nawaafil. Fast Mondays and Thursdays for strengthened dosage and increased effectiveness.

Review prescription regularly. Adjust incrementally to strengthen immunity against diseases of the heart. Take for life!

Let's best get to it!

Congrats Naz!

Alhamdulillah, Naz has a new baby brother! I wish her mother and brother well after going through nearly a day of labor and he was delivered via Cesarean Section.

I'm really happy for them :D

They've brought one more cute baby and Muslim into the world!

Distrust in Hadiths

Has increased.

As I've said before, and that I should stick to the Qur'an and the Qur'an alone, and if need be, double-check "hadiths" with the Qur'an itself.

Now don't scream 'Blasphemy' yet. But a large number of hadiths have contradicted the Qur'an and people actually live by the hadith rather than the Qur'an, astagfurillah.

*This is my own view on how I should practice Islam so don't worry I'm not saying "GO BURN YOUR BUKHARIS, MUSLIMS AND TIRMIDHIS RIGHT NOW!"*

Speaking of which didn't one Bukhari hadith state that the Prophet Muhammad (saw) tried several times to jump off a cliff? Astagfurillah.

And I don't know why I do this -maybe to make myself feel a bit better- but why does the hadith say a man is forbidden to wear gold and silk when in the Qur'an it states:

"7:32 Say: “Who prohibited the nice things God has created for His servants and the good provisions?” Say: “They are believers in the world, and will be exclusively theirs on the day of resurrection.” That is how We explain Our signs in detail for those who understand. "

I mean really is wearing silk going to make a man less 'masculine' it's just cloth! However I do agree that using gold as utensils is plain stupid, that could be lining my grill! And was used a currency way back when.

In regards to all things masculine and feminine, since I happened to remember, I do not believe that women are half as intelligent as men. How can we believe that bull crap? Sorry nothing gets me irked like hadiths which pass as the Word of God about women being 'deficient' in intelligence.

So as you can see, I've been researching on my own (Which isn't haram!) and insha'allah made what is seen in my eyes as a correct statement. If I see something in the hadith which can be contradicted in the Qur'an what am I going to believe? The infallible word of Allah swt or fallible man?

I'll let you figure it out.

*By the way, as I have weird caution notes scattered throughout this post, I may be wrong in my views and I accept that. You may feel free to correct me -with proper Islamic adab- via Commentbox dear readers. I don't want anyone saying "Lies! Damnable lies you harpie! How dare you forsake the hadith which is as dear my first born! A'outhobillah to YOU!"

....

Yeah don't do that.

May Allah swt guide me on the right path and if I am indeed on that path then I shall hence, pat myself on the back and thank God.*

As I conclude this post on my distrust in Hadiths besides those that do not contradict the Qur'an (which leaves very few) I shall end with this comment:

Everything is halal until proven haram with proof (And I implore you to double check the 'proof' in the Qur'an, then at the last resort, logical Hadith for that is how all Fiqh is done)I'm pretty sure that is from a hadith somewhere

P.s The Bukhari book in my house is actually gathering dust because a lot of the hadiths in there do not make sense, i.e I have no need for much of the book.

-Opens the cage- Sic em' boys!

GIVE ME THIS HIJAB STYLE!

I'm pointing to the girl on the far right- Toltu Tufa! (Girl in green hijab and jean jacket)

I am in love with her hijab style and have been looking for how to tie it without revealing my neck.


(closer look here)

Obviously, I haven't come up with any ways dangnabit!

So if anyone of you, darling viewers, would like to help me figure out how to wrap my hijab this way I can guarantee you $1000 dollars! -cough-monopolymoney-cough
And my immense gratitude :D

So.. will ya do it?

Aren't you afraid of going to public places?

-wipes off running mascara-
After yesterday's emo post, today was filled with something interesting!

My family and I went out to the movies today and first stopped at a restaurant for lunch.

Yes, that restaurant and I've been there so many times in my life it seems like the senior citizens just can't get over the fact that yeah, muslim people do go out to eat once and a while.

Well, I have been wearing hijab for only a year, but that isn't the point.

As my sister and I walked towards our table, I was chatting excitedly about what movie to watch and when we sat down my sister just stared at me.

"What?"

"Aren't you afraid of going to public places?" This coming from a girl who accompanies me everywhere

I look around and notice 3 tables of people are just staring at me.


Gawking.

So I look back at her, "Am I that naive?"

She nods and goes to get a plate of food.

Great, thank you Grandma and Grandpa over there. Am I that interesting that you have to put down your fork of mashed potatoes and burn your gaze in the back of my head? I feel loved.

But it didn't matter much to me, if I'm not causing a national security crisis by stepping on my front porch I sure as hell can enjoy a meal with the family.

Besides, I'm 100% sure that one of the guys staring at me was gay anyway.

I'll only lose faith if you do

I really dislike anything that trash talks Islam.

Don't we all?

Okay not the main point of this post.

So, I've already been through that 'there is no God' phase and managed to live through it, but I hate being around others who have no faith in fear of plummeting back to that time. That time of ignorance and fear. When I was afraid of no afterlife and lived in limbo.

Now 'non-believers' call this an example of the indoctrination of the faith. And I hate to question things over and over again but everyone I speak with it seems like they've never asked a question in their life.

How can you do something over and over again and not question it's benefit? It's like brushing your teeth every morning without ever wondering why you brush your teeth. To fight germs(temptation) right?

Again, I have no idea where I'm going with this post, but just feel like typing what's in my head at the moment.

I've been blog-hopping again and apparently found Kafirgirl's blog(www.kafirgirl.wordpress.com). A'outhobillah
Typically, she's an ex-muslim is doing an extensive play by play of the Qur'an. Now for those of weak faith I warn you not to read them but that would be me censoring.

Maybe the posts have caused doubts to rise up again, but I'm resolute in my faith and will not be pulled down by others!

I have a great life and a great family, all thanks to Allah swt and I will not forsake it because some people want to plant a seed of doubt in my mind.

BACK, BACK I SAY!
-throws mouse at you-

25 things about moi

If you don't feel like reading this loonnngg post I'll get the taggings over with already:
I tag African American Honey,
A'qilah ,
Sonia,
Sumiya,
& Malekat
Now you people, I command you to do this! :D


I've done the favorite things before but I was tagged graciously by my sista Naz over at Naz and A'qilah's blog

This time it's 25 things and for the rules you have to tag 5 people

Okie dok let's get this started ^_^

1) By the way, I'm not a very interesting person, at least that's what I think, and used to say "I'm bored" every 10 minutes until I realized I was a boring person. Hopefully that isn't the case nowadays.

2) Oh look I managed to say 1 thing about me :D I'm on a roll. Okay soooo I made a blog in November because like all things Google I had to have one. Now I actually update my blog because I like to think the world really does care about my opinion

3) I'm the 2nd child, oldest daughter, in a family of 4.

4) My parents met in the crazy 80s where tacky sweaters and mini-skirts were the shizz. Not a great picture. They weren't really 'practicing' muslims until a decade ago and were very lax parental units.

5) I have an unusual interest in Victorian era gowns and even made a sketch of a prom outfit made in such a style. Sue me, I'm a loser

6) I want to get better at knitting but each time I renew my interest, I stop because it takes a long time to make a darn scarf. Grr!

7) Wow, 6 things already? Uhh, I'm a blurker/commentor and probably read a bunch of blogs while following only half of them. Don't worry they aren't bad -shiver-

8) Whenever I try to make conversation my tongue gets tied and I usually end up babbling incoherent nonsense. I find that very hard and would rather remain silent. Oddly, this has started happening this year. Before I could talk a mile a minute. Weirdd.

9) Before figuring out singing in public was haram (9th grade, tough year) I had already performed in my middle school's talent show and was about to take Choir as an elective the following year.

10) HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO KNOW? Nosy thing, okay uhh I refused to do this on Facebook and now you know why.

11) If I get one more spam email from foreign men in India and South Africa, I swear I'll...

12)I would love to attend a wedding but I'm banned because my mother doesn't like all of the bad influences there. I mean I never said I'd take off my hijab but then again, I don't want guys ogling me either.

13) SO one time someone asked me if I've ever online flirted... awkward. Who does that? All I can imagine is a conversation filled with ;) ;) ;) and innuendos. How disturbing.

14) I'm a ditz sometimes, and it's totally not on purpose. But being born in California makes you adopt a slight valley girl accent at times. It's freaky.

15) I faked talking to Britney Spears on the phone once and my siblings believed me. HAHA

16) Speaking of that psycho, did you know her latest song "Womanizer" she repeats that stupid word 'Womanizer' 44 times?! All the while hypocritically wiggling around in the nude in some sauna.

17) Okay so that one wasn't about me but still, you got guts for actually reading up to here, let me personally thank you....


Thank you :]

18) Deep down, underneath the layers of hijab fabric and laziness and greed and boredom lies a competitive streak. I'm competitive over everything and although I don't show it (do I?) I always want to succeed even at slightest things. I.e, finishing an assignment first so I can receive extra credit. Studying harder to get the best grades, silently competing against the other french students to get the best grades, sweating like a pig so my team could win in basketball (again, will never work out in the big leagues, this is only P.E c: )

19) Sibling rivalry is evident, but sometimes even I hold my tongue back because I get too bossy. I mean who likes a whiny older sister? I sometimes seem pushy and overbearing and might shove my opinion down your throat. Sorry little bro and sis oh and you too big brother.

20) I abhor dish washing and will get out of doing it whenever I can. It's disgusting in my opinion and think the dishwasher is God's answer to unidentifiable food crusts and pruny/dry hands.

21) Thank God I'm nearly done. Uhh the downstairs clock in the dining room is one hour ahead and no one cares to fix it. Me included.

22) I love to write and made a novel when I was 12 >.> It's a remake of Cinderella ( I've always wanted to be a Disney Princess but the only one who even resembled or had the same background as me -sort of- was Jasmine and I didn't like how she dressed)and since my computer had a virus the document version of it is gone but luckily it's on my e-mail and printed copy. I've never told anyone about my poems and don't intend to

23) Contrary to what others' think, I do care what they have to say and am a great listener. I may not seem like I'm listening but I'll remember what you said and might give great advice -sniff- if I do say so myself. But I will never concede to be a pushover

24) Learned to curse at age 9, it's a work in progress

25) Okay so the two songs that have been continuously playing in my house for the past week (astagfurillah but I will seriously break those computer screens) have been "Womanizer", thanks sis, and "I'm on a boat" damn you SNL!
-shakes angry fist-


YAY I'M DONE! Okay so now I'm sure those of you in the blogging world who actually care about these kind of things know more about me. If you track me down I'll be ready with a gallon of chlorine and a shotgun

"I'm on a boat aanndd it's going fast anndd I've a nautical themed pashmina afghan!"

Covered in Glory

Boston Globe

Now we see a basketball playing hijabi living out my dream -tear- I've always wanted to be a basketball player.

SPRINGFIELD, MA - Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir walks quietly through the halls of the New Leadership Charter School. She is soft-spoken and polite. The youngest child of a devout Muslim family, the 5-foot-3-inch senior believes in modesty, and is determined not to call attention to herself.

It is an impossible dream.

Bilqis cannot help standing out. For one thing, she is the top-ranked student in her class. She wants to study pre-med in college with an eye toward being a cardiac surgeon. "The heart," she says, "is most interesting to me."

Then there is her presence on the basketball court, where she is a magnet for the eyes of all fans, and not just because she competes with her legs and arms completely covered beneath her uniform, and with a hijab (or head scarf) over the top of her head. The point guard dazzles every night with a game that is a nonstop whir of creative fury. She darts into the lane against much bigger players, flicking in layups and reverses and hitting teammates with no-look passes. She drains pull-up jumpers and step-back 3-pointers. Despite a steady diet of double-teams and box-and-one defenses designed to stop her, she is averaging, this season, an astonishing 41.3 points per game.

A fifth-year varsity player, Bilqis (pronounced BILL-KEACE) will attend the University of Memphis this fall on a full scholarship and will become the first player at a top tier Division 1 school to compete in full Muslim dress.

Her look has drawn some curiosity, and, at times, some taunts.

"Sometimes they yell out, 'Terrorist!' " said teammate Ashanti Miller. "She gets mad, but she doesn't lash out. I don't know how she handles it. She just takes it."

In post-Sept. 11 America, Bilqis isn't the first Islamic athlete to endure virulent trash talk. But over time, she says, such abuse has become less frequent.

Of course, the fact that she's got more game than any player on the floor tends to silence the crowd.

Or bring them to their feet. Last week, before a packed gym of friends, family, fans, and media, the 18-year-old Bilqis became the top scorer in Massachusetts high school history, breaking the mark of 2,710 points that basketball legend Rebecca Lobo set in the winter of 1991-92.

Like the game she plays, Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir was born in Springfield. She grew up in a home that fostered her academic focus, her devotion to Islam, and her passion for all things basketball.

Both of her parents, Alooah and Tariq, grew up in the city. Neither was raised Muslim.

The daughter of an engineer and a high school teacher, Alooah was raised as Karen Aloo Humphrey and attended St. John's Congregational Church. In ninth grade she started going out with Charles Cross, a bright and athletic teenager with an endearing sense of humor. They eventually went their separate ways, not reconnecting until Cross moved back to the area in the late 1980s, some two decades later.

He went looking for Karen, and found her - sort of. "I could see she had changed a bit," he recalled with a wry smile. "The attire was different."

She was now Alooah, having converted to Islam in 1975. She was, to say the least, a busy woman. She had six children, three girls followed by three boys, ranging from 13-year-old Tahira to 4-year-old Yusuf. She home-schooled all of them, having become disenchanted with the local public schools after teaching in them for four years. She also ran Alooah's Family Daycare out of her home (still going strong after 30 years). What's more, she had recently been widowed, her husband, Jamal Abdul-Ali, having succumbed at age 43 to pneumonia.

Into this world stepped Cross, who had been living for years in New York and Florida, with, he acknowledges, a lack of direction. "At that time, my life was in question," he says. "I knew that I needed something different. She said, 'You think you might ever embrace Islam?' "

In 1989, he recited the Shahadah (the Islamic creed) and became Tariq Abdul-Qaadir. He and Alooah were married that year. In November 1990, they had their only child, a girl named after the Queen of Sheba - Bilqis.

"Qisi started right in that room right there," said Alooah on a recent Friday afternoon, pointing to the living room where several toddlers napped on mats beneath a green Nerf basketball hoop. She was 3 years old, playing on a Little Tikes basket, getting one shot after another blocked by her brothers. "If she'd hit a shot, we'd make a big deal of it," Alooah recalled. "She kept playing and playing. She didn't care how big you were. She was determined."

She played on teams with and against boys throughout her childhood. "The boys kind of understood that I wasn't just an ordinary girl playing basketball," she said. "They needed me [in order] to win."

By age 10, she was playing with high school students at the AAU level. Her biggest basketball influence was her brother, Yusuf Abdul-Ali. "His game is like a flow," she says. "That's what I want mine to be, nice and smooth."

In 2004, Yusuf led his New Leadership team all the way to the state title game, the first-ever appearance for a charter school. Often at halftime that year, the on-court entertainment was provided by 13-year-old Bilqis, dribbling her way through teenage boys and going hard to the hoop.

Dazzling debut
The next season, while Yusuf moved on to a full scholarship at Division 2 Bentley, Bilqis was unleashed as an eighth-grader on the New Leadership varsity, playing her first game Dec. 15 in Pittsfield at St. Joseph-Central.

Ken Sadlowski, then the St. Joseph-Central coach, had not had an opportunity to scout the opposition. In pregame warm-ups, the point guard for New Leadership didn't seem that exceptional. She was tiny - just 4 feet 10 inches and about 80 pounds - so her No. 1 jersey flopped around on her. (Having not yet reached puberty, she was not required to cover herself in Islamic garb.)

Then the game began. Bilqis was everywhere, driving the lane with utter fearlessness, and stealing the ball again and again and again - 16 times before the night was through. "It was almost like she was faster than light," Sadlowski recalled last week.

When Sadlowski looked at the scorebook after the New Leadership win, he couldn't believe his eyes. Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir had scored 43 points.

Later that year, she received her first recruiting letter from UCLA.

As a freshman, Bilqis had to cover up for the first time. Though she was well-steeped in Islam and had grown accustomed to fasting at Ramadan and praying five times a day (sometimes seeking the solitude of the nurse's office at school), she was still a self-conscious teenager; fitting in mattered deeply. Alooah recalls dropping Bilqis off for the first practice in her new garb and seeing the tears welling up in her daughter's eyes. "Come on, you can do this," Alooah said. "It's going to be OK."

Her uniform was a work in progress: billowing sweat pants and a long cotton shirt beneath the jersey, a head scarf tied in back. Bilqis was hot and uncomfortable. "Some games were like, 'Oh, this is crazy,' " she said, "But I played through it, because I never wanted to stop playing. I wasn't going to let covering stop me."

By the end of that season, she had already scored 1,000 points.

Last year as a junior, her career total hit 2,000. By then, she had achieved a new level of comfort. The physical part of it came through her discovery of lighter fabrics with moisture-wicking qualities that kept her cool. In a larger way, she began to sense that she had an opportunity to challenge stereotypes about Muslim women and to provide some inspiration. As her mother saw it, and as Bilqis began to see it, too, there was no inconsistency between her religious traditions and being a woman with high ambitions - and a ferocious game.

Mixed landscape
Basketball has evolved some as well. In 2004, the University of South Florida became embroiled in a controversy when player Andrea Armstrong converted to Islam and wanted to modify her uniform accordingly. She was initially told by her coach, Jose Fernandez, that such attire was not appropriate for games or practices. Ultimately, the coach and the school relented, but Armstrong wound up leaving the team anyway.

More recently, the number of Islamic girls participating in sports in traditional clothing has increased. From 2005-07, Dewnya Bakri was a reserve guard for the NAIA program at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, playing in her hijab and full covering.

Bilqis has known for a while that she was destined to break some barriers as a prized recruit at the Division 1 level. She wanted to find a basketball program and a university that would serve as a second home.

University of Memphis first-year coach Melissa McFerrin was hoping to provide it.

"I've watched Qisi play since she was in eighth grade and have absolutely loved her style, loved her passion about how she plays the game," says McFerrin. "This is the kind of kid I want to start my program with."

When Bilqis and her family visited, McFerrin made sure to connect them with an Islamic student group. The Abdul-Qaadirs also visited a nearby mosque.

"I'd like to really inspire a lot of young Muslim girls if they want to play basketball," she says. "Anything is possible. They can do it, too."

She is already an inspiration for some of her peers at the New Leadership Charter School. Teammate Tiffany Clark credits Bilqis with "showing me the right way to do things." It was through Bilqis's example, Clark insists, that she turned from a wavering student to a senior on the honor roll. "She's focused all the time. She's always on task."During games, says her coach, John Williams, Bilqis is unselfish, always looking to set up her teammates. Still, in leading the Wildcats to their fifth straight winning record, she has had to score a lot. In tallying 702 points this season, she has accounted for a whopping 72.9 percent of the team's total. Her career mark of 2,895 points makes her a good bet to hit the 3,000 milestone, with three regular-season games and at least one playoff contest ahead.

Mark of greatness
Surpassing Lobo's state record for either gender became a foregone conclusion early in the year. Bilqis almost managed to do it in front of Lobo Jan. 16. Lobo came to Springfield College that night to see New Leadership play against Millbury as part of the HoopHall Classic. Bilqis needed 38 points to tie the record, and struggled at first against a powerful opponent. In the last quarter, she caught fire, building her total to 36, and then firing up a 3-pointer in the game's final minute. It rimmed out, leaving her at 2,708 points and knocking hard at the door of history.

Then last Monday night she took the floor at Commerce, a home game rescheduled from New Leadership's gym at the Rebecca Johnson Elementary School to accommodate a crowd of 1,000 people. When Bilqis came out for layups she couldn't resist sneaking a wave to her family. Her parents were there, her grandparents, her brother Yusuf. The mayor of Springfield, Domenic Sarno, was on hand. Melissa McFerrin flew up from Memphis.

When Bilqis hit the first of two free throws to put her over the top, the game was stopped for a full 10 minutes. The gym was completely unified in focus, fans and players on both teams standing and clapping.

"I think everybody was more excited than I was," she later reflected. "I didn't realize it was going to be this big."

When the game resumed, Bilqis went back to the foul line, took the basketball in her hands, and bounced it once.

Then she tossed it cleanly through the hoop.

Like Kevin Garnett says "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!" And I'm so happy to see us Muslimahs dominating in sports and businesses. Who says we're confined to our homes? That we can't be leaders, athletes and CEOs? This is really inspiring alhamdulillah but the comments from where the article was taken from was mixed with very rude people, eh, everybody's a critic!

Something to think about,
Modest Justice

Bollywood, WHAT HAPPENED?

Baby, what happened? I used to love your movies, but now they're trash!

Bollywood vs Hollywood
"The principal difference between American and Indian commercial cinema is that Indian films usually feature periodic song-and-dance routines which, in a good movie, are expected to move the story forward (in mediocre movies, they are poorly integrated into the story). Songs are sung by professional play-back singers and lip-synched by dancing actors and actresses.

Indian commercial films, in whatever regional center they are made, tend to be long; they are usually two to three hours long, with an intermission. They tend to be melodramatic and sentimental, but may also feature romance, comedy, action, suspense, and other generic elements. "

Indian Cinema, is continuously criticized, for its lack of creativity and its over usage of the same plot line. Movies like Kaho Naa Pyar Hai one of Indian Cinema`s biggest hits, had a storyline which was used for generations. Critics also point out that almost every Drama film in India, is mainly centered around family, and that each of there dramas are extremely similar to those of soap operas.

Ain't that the truth, but I still love watching them!

"The major criticism however is that Indian Cinema, gives no leverage to new directors, or actors. Most who are given the chance, have to mold out of their conventional styles, and have to transform to the thoughts of the producers, who don`t care for the artistic aspect of films, but more for the commercial aspect of it, hence the introduction of Item Numbers, and skimpily clad women. Indian Cinema is at its lowest level at the moment, and even though a few are trying to lift it up, it will take the entire consensus of both the Audiences and the producers, to make Indian Cinema on par with those like the American, British, French, Chinese or Iranian films, which are widely credited to be the best in both art as well as in commercialism."

That hits the nail on the head. The reason why I don't enjoy Indian films like I used to oh so many years ago, is the westernization of the films. Do I honestly watch Indian movies just so I could see the same kissing scenes like that of many American films? Of course not! I love Indian culture and the way the had this chaste form of 'love', it showed that you didn't have to make out in the backseat of a car to show the audience you're in love. Sure the whole neck hugging thing was weird, and the plot was always the same, but they had culture!

However, Bollywood is starting to fall from my good graces, for it's like of plot and cheesy hits. Ugly aur Pagli was really stupid and nothing at all compared to Black (Indian Helen Keller) or the Golden 90s with actresses such as Madhuri Dixit, Kajol or Krishna Kapoor. These days, there are so many new actresses with sucky films, I don't bother to learn their names. Mallika Sherawat got nothin on them!

New things such as 'sex' scenes, and Item girls really make me hate Hindi films these days. Nowadays, I usually watch Iranian films or lesser known tamil films.

If I wanted some cheap American film -yes bollywood I'm equating your movies to that- then I could just go the local Century theaters and see some stupid movie there!

-Modest Justice

"I wasn't going to shake your hand either"

Asalamu Alaikum sisters!

Time to tell you about an incident while attending Jumah prayers today. As my father, brother and I got out of the car, a guy who apparently knows my dad was parking and honked wildly to get his attention. My dad waved and we walked on.

30 seconds later the dude's jogging towards us with a big grin.
"Hey Ali!" He says to my dad and shakes his hand.

He sees my brother and says "Woah, you've grown taller!" And shakes his hand.

Now I'm on my dad's right, clutching his arm. (It's a habit since I was a kid, and although he complains about it I'll never stop!) My brother and Mr.Cheery here are on his left.

The guy looks at me and says, "Oh, I'm not going to shake your hand, you're a girl" and continues to smile. Like an idiot.

I just look back and reply, "That's okay, I wasn't going to shake your hand in the first place."

Shoot. Trying to brush me away like that.

But my dad just looks at me and smiles because we've encountered people like this before.
Flashback Minnesota, Circa 2006: It was a really big mall with a bunch of muslim stores in there. This guy of an Islamic shop shakes my dad's hand and my brothers. But refrains when he sees my hand duck out. (I didn't wear hijab since I was still a tween)He also said my older brother should be more advanced than me in the Qur'an when I said I knew more Surahs than my brother. My dad later tells me he's just an extremist and try not to get mad at idiots like those. Which I didn't; however, I couldn't understand why they would never shake hands.

I mean, my father was never strict in Islam. He never forced my mother or I to wear the hijab, but just encouraged me. He didn't pray as a youth, or young adult nor sported the beard he has today. (I still think it's fake, but that's another incident for another post, don't worry it's real)He shook hands with woman and wasn't 'lustful' as some extreme people say about shaking hands.

But back to this annoying guy, my dad and I laugh and I then find out more about "Extreme dude"
He's part of this Somali political party (tribal based) and that they claim this land that belongs to this other tribe and blah blah blah. Ogaden Liberation Front? If that rings a bell to my somali viewers go comment.
Anyway, I seethe on the inside because this guy's seriously messed up in the head. You can't be all 'holier-than-thou' and support tribalism while fighting for Ogaden liberation rather than Muslim liberation. A'outhobillah

In the end, I was glad to not shake his hand in fear his backwardness might rub off on me.
Plus, I really don't like to shake hands with older guys anymore. Especially my dad's friends. Well old friends, the ones before my dad had before he became more religious. Granted I don't see them, but whenever an occasional one stops by our house or we see them somewhere, at least they shake my hand. But no hugs, that's too far and awkward.

Then again, there was this one acquaintance of my father who just gave me the heebi-jeebies whenever I saw him long ago. Totally uncomfortable for a 12 year old to feel like some old guy is checking her out.

Ugh, I'm done, peace
-Modest Justice

Valentine's Day

Ew

Now this is definitely a commercialized holiday. Besides the fact that it is unIslamic, why would you want to celebrate your loved ones only ONCE a year? Being the greedy person I secretly am, I refuse to spend $3 for a V-Day gram for my friends, but the real excuse I say is: "It's against my religion" They still buy me something but don't expect a rose back.

Shouldn't everyday be love day (or something to that effect)? Why conform with mainstream society on a pointless holiday. I mean, now I can't go to the mall because PDA is going to be everywhere! Darn you, you disgusting couples! I try not to gag while eating my popcorn in the theaters.

Heck, I even found this Anti-Valentine's day poem hilarious:

"Hearts and roses and kisses galore
What the hell is all that s**t for?
People get mushy and start acting queer.
It is definitely the most annoying day of the year".

Hahaha! But most people around the world are rejecting these kind of over-done, materialistic, lonely holidays.

Not to say I'm lonely

Or that I'm taken

Nor am I advertising my singleness on the web

Sorry, not looking.


Moving on, I propose we go back to the olden days. Where the guy and girl court with a chaperone. You know, the girl has her nicest bonnet on -but no sequins!- and they go for a nice carriage ride while the guy feeds the horse carrots. Maybe they'll go to a petting zoo afterwards! All the while being followed by their Mother, Father, Auntie and other irrelevant adults.
But no flirting!
It'll be like the haram police took over this holiday.

Anywho, time to throw away my gelatin-filled chocolate box and wilted rose.

Then I shall immerse myself into the 80s film "Pretty in Pink" while crying into a bucket of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and singing "My Heart will go on"

Boo-freakin-hoo


-Sarcasm, Modest Justice

You know you're in a recession when...

Teachers start moonlighting as prostitutes on Craig's list.

Shall I say it again?

You know you're in a recession when teachers start moonlighting as prostitutes on Craig's list.

One more time.

You know you're in a recession when teachers start moonlighting as prostitutes on Craig's list.


...I think I just threw up a little.

Now seriously, a 4th grade teacher at an elementary school in Bellafontaine, Ohio -Amber Carter, 35- left school early Tuesday (taking half a sick day) and was arrested in a motel parking lot in Bellefontaine.

Are you kidding me?
She whored herself out to pay the rent? It's kind of scary to see the extent of the economic downturn and its toll on the American people -shiver-

What next, Grannies out on the corners, flashing their girdles at paying eyes so they can afford health care?
"OBAMA, you have some explainin to do!" Desi Arnaz (Holy sh- He's back from the dead?!)

And while we're on the topic of teachers, and ... 'side jobs' apparently, your potential workplace CAN find you on the web. Once they know you have a Facebook and Myspace, all they have to do is type in your name and -Voila!- all of your personal information is displayed on their high-definition Dell computers. Unless you're smart enough to change your last name and make your profile private.

But most aren't.

Yes, your drunken pictures on the coast of Puerto Rico are against Company policy, and we're going to have to let you go Chuck. Oh and tell Sidney we don't like how she listed she can "dance like a stripper" on her 'About Me' and that she's fired too. Have a nice day :D

The moral of this extremely long tangent?
Don't do stuff that can land you in trouble, especially if you're a teacher idiot.

Peace,Love,and Kentucky Fried Chicken,
Modest Justice

Executive Order 9066

"United States Executive Order 9066 was a presidential executive order issued during World War II by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, using his authority as Commander-in-Chief to exercise war powers to send ethnic groups to internment camps."

Ironic right?
The U.S was fighting to let the Jews get OUT of camps, all the while tucking away a whole ethnic group in such camps. Although the Japanese weren't subjected to gassing and backbreaking labor, they were still targeted for their ethnicity and lost everything their parents and grandparents worked for in the "Land of the Free".

"It was eventually applied to one-third of the land area of the U.S. (mostly in the West) and was used against those with "Foreign Enemy Ancestry" — Japanese, Italians, and Germans."

Keepin' a close watch on the 'Axis' I see.

But who gave America such a right to impose such harsh circumstances?
"As then California Attorney General Earl Warren put it, 'When we are dealing with the Caucasian race we have methods that will test the loyalty of them. But when we deal with the Japanese, we are on an entirely different field.'"

Then again, they did get away with slavery for 200 years.

Sometimes I can't help but wonder what people had to go through just to make America such a free country. It may give its citizens much more rights than others but one cannot forget its past. To know one's past is to know one's future as the overused saying goes. I think it still hangs on the wall in my 7th grade History class, even if it is gathering dust and being avoided by the years of students sitting there and eventually repeating the mistakes of the past.

History has an odd way of repeating itself.

Yet this all ties to my city's 29th Annual Day of Remembrance, because I live in California, once home of the Internment Camps:

The Day of Remembrance commemorates the anniversary of Executive Order 9066 which led to the forced incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent, two-thirds of whom were American citizens. Each year, we gather to remember that great civil liberties tragedy and each one of us reflects on what that event means to us today.
The Day of Remembrance is an event that aims to bring different communities together in order to build trust, respect and understanding among all people and to renew our pledge to fight for equality, justice and peace.

This year's program, "Witness to History," features Isamu Carlos Arturo "Art" Shibayama, a local activist whose own life story reflects one of the little known facts about the internment period.
>From December 1941 to February 1948, the U.S. government orchestrated and financed the mass abduction, forcible deportation and internment of 2,264 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry from 13 Latin American countries. The U.S. planned to use them as hostages in exchange for Americans held by Japan. Over 800 Japanese Latin Americans were included in two prisoner of war exchanges between the U.S. and Japan.

Arturo Shibayama was born in Peru to parents of Japanese descent. When he was 13 years old, he and his family were forcibly taken from their home in the city of Lima, loaded onto a U.S. Army transport ship and brought under armed guard to the U.S. for the purpose of hostage exchange. "In New Orleans we landed and the women and children were let off the ship first and they were marched into like a warehouse and they were ordered to strip and stand in line naked and then they were sprayed with some kind of insecticide and then after shower they were put on a train and then the men went through the same process. And that was the first time we got to see the rest of the family. We were put on the same coach and my sister says she felt so humiliated because she had to stand naked in front of boys her own age."

The Shibayama family was interned in Crystal City, Texas, for 2 1/2 years. When the Crystal City camp closed after the war's end, the Shibayama family was paroled to Seabrook Farms as cheap labor. In 1952, while still classified as an "illegal alien", Mr. Shibayama was drafted into the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany during the Korean conflict. "In the Army, one day my section leader he says, hey Art, he says how come you not a citizen? So I told him what happened to me. He says I'll get you one. My paper went to Washington, came back. I was denied. Because I didn't have a legal entry. Now how can that not be legal entry when the US brought us here forcibly?"

Since the early 1980s, Mr. Shibayama has been seeking proper acknowledgment and apology from the U.S. government for the violation of his civil and human rights. In the early 1990s, the U.S. government declared him and other Japanese Latin Americans to be ineligible for redress under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 (which provided an apology and $20,000 compensation to interned Japanese Americans) because they were "illegal aliens" at the time of internment. Subsequent litigation on behalf of the Japanese Latin Americans resulted in the controversial Mochizuki settlement agreement, which Mr. Shibayama rejected.

Mr. Shibayama has continued to press for an apology and equitable redress as a matter of principle, through legislation, litigation and grassroots education. Not having found justice through the U.S. court system, Mr. Shibayama and his two brothers appealed to the international community by filing a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. This petition seeks to hold the U.S. government accountable for its failure to provide redress for war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated against the Japanese Latin Americans during WWII.



Geez America, you can't even say sorry for putting a family, whom you forced to enter your country, into an interment camp and then have the balls to declare them 'illegal citizens'?

-flips America the Eagle-

Modest Justice

Misnomer

I just noticed that my name, Modest Justice, is a misnomer.
Misnomer
–noun
1. a misapplied or inappropriate name or designation.
2. an error in naming a person or thing.

This applies with number 1. I may be modest but I don't see justice anywhere in my posts. They mostly range from trivial details of my life, to the broader concerns of the world around me. Therefore I need to find a better name. Plus an address change might suit me. I don't want everyone in my normal life to figure out that I have a blog and then consequently read it. Although I know one person who knows and I'm perfectly fine with that.

But getting back to the topic, anything like Muslimah Teen sounds sooo mundane. EVEN if it doesn't exist. So I'm asking you dear viewers, give me some ideas s'il vous plait?

I'll try to think of some lame ones later. Dinner is calling me.

-To Be Announced

"So as I-" -eyes glaze over- "Ugh, nevermind"

You know when you talk to certain people, guys particularly, and after addressing the issue and begin to discuss something else you can see the eyes glazing over and further contact is pointless/meaningless?

I hate that.

It isn't limited to colleagues either. No, it happens in the place where I'm supposed to be loved and listened to most. Sorry not Disneyland but my very own home.

Whenever I bring a topic to my Dad and seek his blessings (a.k.a permission to go or his 'insight') that's basically where the attentiveness ends. After, if I bring up the weather or something, he usually turns his head to whatever he was previously doing. He says his listening but I'm sure he isn't. Same thing with my older brother. I remember talking to a guy in one of my classes, I brought this up. You know what he said? I'll tell you what he said! "Well duh, guys only listen to a girl when they're in love with them." Which so isn't true! Of course I don't want any of them to be 'in love' with me, but who hasn't seen a chick flick. The guys are inattentive jerks, not that I base my perceptions of men on chick flicks, they're supposed to be like that.

But it's completely frustrating so I decide to not talk to guys at all! I shouldn't have been speaking with them in the first place and now I know why. They're complete idiots. (No offense to you married ladies) Now if I have any problem with school I just go straight to my friends. Who are all girls. We love to talk right? And we always listen to one another no matter what nonsense we're spouting.It's pretty fun.


Lesson in life:
Never speak to guys, they're a bunch of ADHD Xbox loving losers.

However, that doesn't mean I'll live the rest of my life feeding 27 cats and watching "Days of Our Lives"

-Modest Justice

A Good Listener

Lately, people have been telling me there problems and I've lent my patient ear.
At least I hope it's patient.
I mean, it's not bad to give people advice or let them talk to someone because the alternative is to bottle it all up inside. Which is very harmful to one's health.
But how do I answer all of people's questions? Alhamdulillah I try my best, but when controversial subjects come up (such as doubting and orientation) I state my honest opinion first and then bring in the religion.
Those two intertwine to some degree. And while I like to give advice and be there for people, I can't help letting my ego get caught up in there.

For example, while talking with a friend and discussing our doubts and moments of inspiration in religion I couldn't help saying my doubts were answered. That I found comfort in my religion, Islam and every question I had was answered.

But that doesn't make us perfect, we all have our personal jihads and my friend wasn't immune to it. So while giving her the best advice I could, it makes me stop and think. Now, I don't want to relate any of the discussion about her personal life out of respect for her feelings but anything about me is a-okay.

How do you tell someone their lifestyle isn't right?
Or answer that whatever they're doing isn't really right, but don't worry God still loves you.


I'll go be corny elsewhere while figuring out the answer

Love & Peace,
Modest Justice