My Shining Star

The school that my kids go to is quite diverse.  There are Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and Buddhists....and I'm sure I've left some out.  There are different colored children running about, from the dark almost purple skinned Somalis to the milky white of the Caucasians.  It's beautiful to see them all intermingling and having fun.  I wouldn't want my children any other place.

With all the different faiths, the school has gone from having Christmas Concerts to having "Winter Celebration" (no, I'm not going to go into the political correctness of this) -- it's usually a concert in which every class has 2 (or more) songs to sing, one is a standard Christmas carol, and the other is some sort of religious/ethnic/cultural song from somewhere in the world (my two favorites from last year were "Mother Earth" a First Nations song, and I think the other was called "Lighted Lanterns" and it was a Chinese song...very, very cool).  Anyhow -- this year they are incorporating a bit of a play into the concert...it's called "America Celebrates" -- which is interesting in that it show cases the main holidays celebrated in America -- even though we're in Canada....but....well...whatever.

So -- my daughter got the lead role!  Woot woot!  She plays a bossy, know-it-all/leader of the pack...which is so ironically funny because that is a perfect description of her personality.   Anyhow, this character goes about organizing a food drive and teaching all her pals about the different celebrations (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas and even Eid)...it's pretty neat practicing her lines with her.  Her character's comments look like this:

     EMILY:  (sarcasm) yeah, we already knew that. (ordering) So, Johny, you carry 
                   these bags while we go about collecting.

It's like the role was written for her.  I'm having a blast rehearsing with her and can't wait to see the play!

Oh...wait...the play is on the last day of my exams.  I'm going to miss her acting debut.  Who's gonna come video it for me so that I can watch it later??

A book I want to read...

I came across this the other day...looks to be quite interesting.  A book to answer the questions that many in America/Canada/UK have about Muslims..too bad I can't read anything enjoyable until Mid-December (stupid school!)  But, I thought that maybe some of my readers (Tina, Meaghan, Erin, etc) might enjoy it, so I'm putting the link here.
←  Americans, click here


                            Canadians, click here →

Misunderstandings

So the other day, a great family member and I had a bit of an online misunderstanding.  Our thoughts and opinions and feelings shared right out there for the public to see.  It wasn't really resolved until we sent private messages to one another.  I think our mutual misunderstandings surprised us both.

You see, not so much on my blog, but definitely on my fanpage, twitter and personal facebook page, I have been posting links and making comments about the issues surrounding Park51 (aka, the Ground Zero Mosque).  To me, it's not so much the issue of the building, or where it is, or even why it is.  What I want people to see is that just because a person is a Muslim, they are not a terrorist.

This family member, however, felt that I was attacking.  She felt accused and beaten up.  This was NOT my intention and I apologize to her and to any of you who may have felt the same.

I am a huge supporter of peace and love and understanding.  I don't think that you have to be like me, or believe like me or do like me.  I am proud to say that I have friends and family from different ethnicities and religions and backgrounds.  How horrible would our world be if we were all the same?

 So, I thought that I would take a moment to say why I think it's important to get my message out.  I often feel that when I go out, I am seen as an outsider.  I am viewed as an "other."  I worry that people see me as a traitor, or that I'm assumed to be a terrorist.  The fact is, I am a Muslim. I am a Canadian. I am a mother, sister, daughter and friend.  All I ever want is for other people to see that too.

Have a question? Read this??

If this doesn't answer it -- ask me -- but I think his message is fairly clear!  Thanks to Keahn for forwarding this on to me (the authors last name and place of work have been removed as I don't think he'd appreciate it being spread all over the net!)

Dear Campus Community,

Some campus members, understanding that I am a Muslim, out of their curiosity, are asking me some interesting questions such as: Are you a US Citizen? Do Muslims believe in Jesus? Does Allah mean God? What do you think about the Terrorists? Why Muslim Scholars living in the United States don’t denounce the terrorists publicly? What is your viewpoint on building the Mosque at Ground Zero?

Since this is an educational institution, I thought it would be good to share my answers with the campus community, not as a debate but as information.

Are you a US Citizen?
Yes, I am a US Citizen. I love this country and I am proud to be a US Citizen. I am grateful that I can call myself an American and still practice my religion freely and peacefully as I want. It is the genius of the founders and the brilliant words of the Declaration of Independence & the Constitution that have helped our country prosper. I have been in several countries in the past and believe this country is the best country to live in on Earth in terms of civility, values, and development. I always tell this to my children, who were born here, and tell them to appreciate the core American values.

Do Muslims believe in Jesus?
Yes, Muslims believe in Jesus as a great prophet and messenger of God, but not as the son of God. Christians and Muslims have more in common than most people think. The only two sources that talk about Jesus are the Bible followed by the Quran. Jesus is quoted more times than Muhammad in the Quran. According to the Islamic articles of faith, you are not a Muslim if you do not believe in Jesus and the Gospel. Muslims also believe that Jesus was born from a virgin birth by the Virgin Mary. Mary is mentioned several times in the Quran and is one of the highest and most respected women in Islam. Muslims believe in all the Old Testament and New Testament prophets. We believe in Adam, Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Jesus, etc. We also share much of the same stories of the Biblical tradition.

Does Allah mean God?
Yes, Allah is simply the Arabic word for God (the Only God). Allah is not God of the Muslims only. He is the God of all the creations and universe. He is the God of Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and all of his other prophets. There are many Christians that live in the Arab world and they also refer to God as Allah. If you open a Bible written in Arabic, you will see that the word for God is written as Allah. Christian priests in the Arab world always use the term Jesus son of Allah.

What do you think about the Terrorists?
I condemn terrorism and those who commit terror in the name of my religion! Islam is not connected to terrorism. Terrorists are not Muslims because their acts contradict the Quran’s foundational principles. The Quran emphasizes the hierarchy of sins. For example, in the eyes of God, murder is a greater sin then adultery. The terrorists commit the highest ranking sins that the Quran warns against. They kill innocent people and are involved in suicide attacks. The Quran states, for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole humanity: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the whole humanity (5:32). It also states, And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you (4:29).

The Terrorists, killing innocent people, are evil individuals who should not be associated to any religion. Sometimes they are associating themselves to a religion but their actions totally contradict the principles for that religion. For example, Hitler with his horrible actions was associating himself to a religion and we all know that his evil actions totally contradicted the principles of that religion. Some of the Terrorists in Islamic countries, who are associating themselves with Muslims, misinterpret Quran or take texts out of the contents to achieve their objectives. You can find bad individuals in every religion, country, race, or ethnicity. It wouldn’t be correct to generalize the entire group for the actions of a few.

Associating the terrorists with 1.2 billion Muslims in reality is empowering the terrorists. It increases the resentments; boosts the morale of the terrorists; assists the terrorists’ propaganda; and makes the recruitment easier for the terrorists. As I have noticed, some politicians, a few radical religious leaders, and most of the media are associating the two more frequently who may have political objectives/agendas or short/long term gains/profits regardless of what harm their actions are causing to American people. They also are misinterpreting Quran and taking texts out of content to achieve their objectives. As we have noticed, they increase the fear and hatred among American people. According to some psychologist, fear takes away peoples’ enjoyment in life and hatred leads to violence or self destruction. Violence could be in the form of physical aggression, protests, discrimination, etc., and self destruction could be in the form of suicide, depression, and other psychological disorders.

Why Muslim Scholars living in the United States don’t denounce the Terrorists publicly?
The Muslim Scholars who I know do denounce terrorists and they should do more. As I have realized, most of the Muslim Scholars travel to their homeland countries making them more vulnerable to the terrorists. They don’t want to put their own lives and the lives of their relatives in danger. Terrorists are ruthless individuals with evil political objectives willing to kill anyone. Even I am careful in not crossing the line to put the lives of my relatives in danger who are currently in Afghanistan.

What is your viewpoint on building the Mosque at Ground Zero?
The Terrorists’ attack of 9-11 was an attack to all Americans including Muslim Americans. The protests and resistance against building a Mosque there is empowering the terrorists because their action is associating the terrorists to 1.2 billion Muslims. It seems that some of those politicians/religious leaders/ and media have achieved their objectives (as indicated earlier) in associating the two and in creating that level of hatred.

If I were in charge of the Muslim Community in New York, I would have changed the location of the mosque to prevent further conflicts. I also would have changed the location out of respect for the 9-11 victims who have been the victims of the terrorists and the victims of those other indicated groups.

In conclusion, I believe, the following will lead to the defeat of the terrorists in Islamic countries: segregating the terrorists from the Muslims and empowering the Islamic countries to denounce the terrorists themselves; understanding of Islam and building bridges with different faiths; and achieving a peaceful resolution between Israel and Palestine which will embrace peace and will stop terrorists’ propaganda as a recruitment tool.
Regards
Hamid XXXXX

I only have one bone of contention -- I don't think that moving the ground zero mosque will appease anyone. I don't think there'd be the same uproar if a church, temple or shrine were built there. I'm not going into a big political debate about it -- it's just my opinion.

Also -- one comment -- I think that the Muslim Scholars do denounce terrorism -- but it's not as newsworthy as the fear mongering that the media salivates over.

Spread Love, not hate

Sorry for the lack of recent updates lately -- first week of school and I'm barely keeping my head above water with all the reading and such that goes along with that -- more to come in a later post (as the topics I'm covering are very interesting)

Anyhow - just wanted to post a little video that I think is something important to watch (especially considering recent "news events")  I don't think there is any more to be said, so watch and ponder....and let me know what you think.

Faith and scarves and courage, oh my!

I've had a problem for the last few years, something that I've been too ashamed to admit to, but was probably pretty obvious to everyone around me.  I've been embarrassed about my faith.  I certainly had no doubts about my religion, but I've been worried that people would think I was one of "them" -- you know, those evil, plotting terrorists.  So what did I do....I cowered in the corner like a frightened little kitten.

I kept my faith out of my home daycare for fear of offending parents, and the result was keeping my faith from my children.

I kept my faith out of my non-Muslim family's home, for fear of offending them, and the result was keeping my faith from me.

Well -- one more thing to be thankful for that God-Awful book that we read -- I got myself a back bone.

I emailed my daycare parents and asked them if they'd be okay with their kids doing some "Ramadan" type of crafts (coloring pages, lanterns, etc).  Their response was "Absolutely." -- why was I afraid?  In fact, one mother (and a great friend) said "Why are you even asking me this??"  Have I mentioned that I love you, Chantilly??

So - I'm now not afraid to tell the children that I'm fasting, or why, or that I may be hungry/grumpy/tired (or all three), and they understand more than just "Hethr's not eating lunch today" -- really...what kind of example did that send?

I know that the psycho, pathetic jerks who do horrible things under the guise of my religion are fools.  I will not allow them to be the spokespersons of my faith!  Look out world, I have the courage and the power to set an example of what a true Muslim is!

Then...yesterday I saw this video that my fellow blogger Old Muslim Woman posted:






I think that it's really sad that in this day and age, we cannot accept something that is different.  Why are we so scared a head scarf?  What's the deal with that?  I agree with the woman -- "Don't put me in the back."  It's as if Disney is okay with you being an open Muslim, but not where people might see.

The comments though are what is really disturbing.  What's wrong with it, I need to ask?  People claim "it's part of the costume for her to not wear it." -- I have seen many, many, MANY costumes/uniforms that have been accommodated to be "religion friendly" (think the Sikh Mounties, or Jewish men wearing the little cap thing..yarmaka I think...or the Jehovah Witness teen on my street who wears a full length skirt instead of a knee length to her all-girls school)  -- now - not saying that the costume itself has to change, but simply wearing a hijab that co-ordinates is enough.

What do you all think?