My Three-Fold Utopian Dream
Friday, August 04, 2006
Zidane the man
I don't know the story behind this picture but I love it. I think it shows what a true champ Zidane is! ¶ 5:46 pm 0 comments
I don't know the story behind this picture but I love it. I think it shows what a true champ Zidane is! ¶ 5:46 pm 0 comments
Muslim vs non-Muslim
As a hijab wearing muslim woman living in the United Kingdom I feel constantly under the spot light. In recent years this has only gotten worse due to the political status of Islam, 9/11 and 7/7. There is always the need to prove yourself, to show people that Muslims are normal and fun and not terrorists. Having left the UK for a few years and living in Saudi Arabia I took for granted the Islamic environment I was living in and practising Islam was easy. Moving back opened my eyes to what Islam really is and made me want to know more and ask about aspects of the religion I had never thought about or questioned before. Being a Muslim in the west it is VITAL to know your religion. You are constantly stopped in the street, at the supermarket, at university or on the train and are asked 'why do you wear a head scarf?', 'is it true that Muslim wome have to cover their face?' or a rude question 'aren't you hot wearing that towel on your head?' or even a snide remark 'all Muslims are terrorists and you kill poeple!'. How embaressig would it be not to know the answer to a simple question that defines who you are? How shameful would it be not to be able to defend myself when hearing such ignorant and ridiculous comments and remarks? And then there is the case of abuse. I know many Muslim men and women that have been faced with verbal and physical abse for practising their religion. I thankfuly, have never been subjected to such hatred but it happens.
This brings me to the purpose of this post. Are Muslims particularly stressed? Do they have higher stress levels than non-Muslim? This is the subject of my MSc research. The exact title is: The relationship between dietary intake and percieved stress levels in Muslim and non-Muslim women living in the UK. I have collected a 7 day food diary for 100 participants (50 Muslim and 50 non-Muslim). I am going to be comparing the two groups in terms of their percieved stress level questionnanire results, the different amounts of certain nutrients (vitamin C, thiamin, magnesium etc). All in all I think it makes for an interesting peice of research and I'm really eager to get my results..unfortunately that can only be done by inputting my data into SPSS, which is the bane of my existance. Those of you that are familliar with the program will sympathise with me... wish me luck!
¶ 3:30 pm 0 comments
Friday, July 28, 2006
Prince Walids 38th Car
I cannot understand why someone would want to have a car like that. I can understand the fascination in making it, but actually owning it and having it sitting there, with no porpose what so ever except looking pretty. What is prince Walid trying to prove? That he's rich? Like we need reminding. I think if I were as rich as him I wouldn't buy a car like that. It is a waste in every sense. Imagine how many starving people he could feed with that money. AND who in the world would pay $1000 to touch it. That's just stupider than buying the car.
¶ 12:14 pm 0 comments
Monday, July 17, 2006
Hold on Lebanon, hold on.
Maybe these are not the most appropriate or fitting lyrics, but somehow, in my mind they fit..
Hold On
Hold on
Hold on to yourself
for this is gonna hurt like hell
Hold on
Hold on to yourself
you know that only time will tell
What is it in me that refuses to believe
this isn't easier than the real thing
My love
you know that you're my best friend
you know I'd do anything for you
my love
let nothing come between us
my love for you is strong and true
Am I in heaven here or am I...
at the crossroads I am standing
So now you're sleeping peaceful
I lie awake and pray
that you'll be strong tomorrow and we'll
see another day and we will praise it
and love the light that brings a smile
across your face
Oh god if you're out there won't you hear me
I know that we've never talked before
oh god the man I love is leaving
won't you take him when he comes to your door
Am I in heaven here or am I in hell
at the crossroads I am standing
So now you're sleeping peaceful
I lie awake and pray
that you'll be strong tomorrow and we'll
see another day and we will praise it
and love the light that brings a smile
across your face...
Hold on
hold on to yourself
for this is gonna hurt like hell ¶ 10:16 pm 0 comments
Hold On
Hold on
Hold on to yourself
for this is gonna hurt like hell
Hold on
Hold on to yourself
you know that only time will tell
What is it in me that refuses to believe
this isn't easier than the real thing
My love
you know that you're my best friend
you know I'd do anything for you
my love
let nothing come between us
my love for you is strong and true
Am I in heaven here or am I...
at the crossroads I am standing
So now you're sleeping peaceful
I lie awake and pray
that you'll be strong tomorrow and we'll
see another day and we will praise it
and love the light that brings a smile
across your face
Oh god if you're out there won't you hear me
I know that we've never talked before
oh god the man I love is leaving
won't you take him when he comes to your door
Am I in heaven here or am I in hell
at the crossroads I am standing
So now you're sleeping peaceful
I lie awake and pray
that you'll be strong tomorrow and we'll
see another day and we will praise it
and love the light that brings a smile
across your face...
Hold on
hold on to yourself
for this is gonna hurt like hell ¶ 10:16 pm 0 comments
Friday, July 14, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
IslamExpo
It has been 4 days since IslamExpo ended and one thing I can say is that I was pleasantly surprised. Usually what happens in an islamic event is chaos. Starting 2 hours late is a must and goes without saying, let us not forget the over crowded hall and children running around screaming and crying, and there is ALWAYS a shortage of chairs. IslamExpo however was the complete opposite. Don't get me wrong, it was extremely crowded, but in a good way, people were actually moving to look at thing and not standing around passing time. On the first day the event was meant to start at 10:30 but started at 11 due to the exhibition not being ready, so for health and safety reasons people were not allowed in.
The event took place in Alexandra Palace, otherwise known as 'Alley Palley'. It is a gorgeous location set within 196 acres of glorious parkland, the Palace features an extraordinary blend of Victorian splendour, fascinating history and modern technology (i stole that from their website). When entering the main enterance u are greeted with a grand arabian style tent harbouring goodie bags for the schools kids attending the event. After entering it you walk down a long corridoor known as the 'Time Walk'. the Time Walk held several plasma screens displaying the different empires of Islam throughout history eg. the Ottomans of Instanbul, Ummayads of Syria, the Alusians of Cordoba, Abbasids of Baghdad and the Mughals of Arga. It made for a fascinating journey though time. At the end of the time warp u are met with the Great hall containing the Knowledge Zone, workshop areas, stalls, lounge area and cafeteria, khayaal theatre and prayer area. It displayed an array of faith, culture, science, art and histroy. The different areas in the knowledge zone included the Five Pillars area, the Quraan Wing, Islamic Tree of Khowledge, Islam and Science, the Art and Calligraphy wing, Muslims Around the World (which was a fantastic exhibition by world class photographer Peter Sanders), the Sounds of the Muslim World corner, the Timbuktu corner and Islam in Britain.
The event was a field day for the media and press. there were reporters and camerman EVERYWHERE. you had journalists and photographers, some known, others not. at least 4 came to speak to me and wanted an interview. i don't do tv, but i agreed to one. im dreading watching myself on tv, hopefully no one will see it!
All in all it was really diverse and educational. I believe that the non muslims that attended were pleasantly surprised to see what muslims have to offer and what they are about. The aim of IslamExpo was to build bridges between the muslims and the non muslims. I don't know if we've achieved that, perhaps it's a stepping stone for bigger things. What i do know is that it will take more than a 1.5m exhibition to make muslims heard and respected in our society. However, it's a start and may open doors for us. only time will tell i guess... the only downfall to the event in my opinion is that there werent as many non muslims as i'd liked. maybe they were a bit apprehensive to come or didn't hear about it.
¶ 12:00 am 0 comments
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
A drought in the midst of rainfall
Depending on which part of the world you live in you may or may not have heard of the hosepipe ban that has taken over London and the south east. Apparantly we had a very dry winter..and also due to golbal warming we had less rainfall this year, and to top it off due to the incompetnce of water companies we are losing enough water to fill 344 olympic sized swimming pools everyday due to bust pipes and leakages.
To me thats just inexcusable. These water companies are making billions of pounds profit a year and they can't even fix some water pipes. It makes me so angry to think that we are paying our taxes for a service that we can't even use as we please. For example, just before easter I planted some flower seeds in my garden and it took about a month for them to grow. I was so pleased and called them 'my children'.. however due to the HOSEPIPE ban they wilted and DIED! I'm so gutted. I've never been one to follow the rules but this time round I thought hey let me get that sense of community and do something for my environment.. that's the last time I listen to THAT voice in my head. Also, I've got a pond in the back garden whose water is slowly turing green...not a pretty sight I tell you..
Anyways I'm off to take out the hosepipe and use some water to my hearts delight! ta ta
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
The World Cup
¶ 7:17 pm 0 comments
it has been 4 years since the last world cup and although my memories of the last one are a little blurred to me the world cup has always been a time of unity. People come together and a sense of pride develops, flags are up and banners are made. It is impossible to walk down a street without passing a car with a flag flying by its side or a bedroom window displaying a flag. i've noticed that football plays a HUGE role in English life. The chants and songs that are made up aren't exactly the best but you can't help but sing along. It's truely fascinating.
A lot of people have recently been saying that there are more important things in life than the world cup and that people are more interested in it than what's going on in Iraq, Palestine and the rest of the world. I completely agree but who said we can't enjoy our selves and still be up to date with the events happening around us. There are those that take it to another level. I'm talking about people who live, breathe and eat football (not literally ;)).. I think that there are limits to the world cup spirit ... it's just another pleasure in life..like eating ice cream!
anyways i'm off to watch the England v Sweden match
it's coming home, it's coming home, footballs coming home!!
COME ON ENGLAND!!!
A lot of people have recently been saying that there are more important things in life than the world cup and that people are more interested in it than what's going on in Iraq, Palestine and the rest of the world. I completely agree but who said we can't enjoy our selves and still be up to date with the events happening around us. There are those that take it to another level. I'm talking about people who live, breathe and eat football (not literally ;)).. I think that there are limits to the world cup spirit ... it's just another pleasure in life..like eating ice cream!
anyways i'm off to watch the England v Sweden match
it's coming home, it's coming home, footballs coming home!!
COME ON ENGLAND!!!
