Radioactive Waste Surfaces in the Coastline of Somalia - Where is Jack Sparrow?

A barrel found in the Northern Easter region of Somali, Puntland after the 2005 Asian tsunami.

As if we haven’t been hearing rumors of this for years, finally some truth to the madness is spilled. Literally, the toxic poisons have been spilling on the shores of Somalia for years. Apparently soon after the civil war broke out, the not so honorable warlord Ali Mahdi Mohamed of the first transitional government was low on funds and eager to take the money of the European firms so they may be allowed to spill thousands of tons of barrels of toxins. The culprits behind this sickening news have not be captured, detained or murdered the way the pirates who first set out to defend their waters have been.

Here is one article to explain a bit about this: http://bit.ly/gjjoZ1

Here is another recent article on how the Russians murdered 9 pirates on their ships:http://bit.ly/9Md9qd

I am not generally, yes generally, for thugs attacking ships to hold people ransom in order to loot and gain millions just for their own personal gain. What I am also extremely opposed to is European countries and their mafia firms targeting a defenseless countries and dumping thousands of tons of barrels of toxins off shore. It has been flowing onto the shores, killing and infecting the fish and now deformed infants and children plaguing the villages offshore, with nothing for them to eat and create a sustainable living with. For centuries, the people of Puntland and all along the coast of Somalia have lived off the natural resources of the sea.

It’s a sad world. The poor grow poorer, the weak and helpless have no fighting chance and when they try to do something about their ever growing problem the get labeled pirates, the ugly version not the Johnny Depp Pirates of the Caribbean version we love to watch...

Where is the UN, they have said they have been known about this for years. What is the Somalia transitional government doing? Should we expect nothing as usual?

Nothing can be done unless the people take matters into their own hands. May it be rallying for leaders who care or education in order to research methods of getting what we want done.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un
We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return to.

Having Facebook Profile Privacy Issues?

I just read through this article on how Facebook announced last week that it was making it possible for third-party applications to gain access to users' mobile phone numbers and addresses, but by early this Monday they took back the change till further notice.

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If you're ready to move into Facebook stealth mode and to keep your profile as private as possible, follow these simple steps:

• Visit Facebook.com, log in to your profile and click 'Account' in the top-right corner. From there, choose 'Privacy Settings.'

• From the 'Privacy Settings' page, click on 'View Settings' to see who can search for you, send messages to your account, see your education and work settings and more. Change all of these drop-down menus to 'Friends Only.'

• Return to the 'Privacy Settings' page and choose 'Customize Settings' near the bottom of the page. This new page will load a number of different privacy options, but you'll want to click through each one and change the setting to 'Only Me' so that nobody else can see your Facebook activity.

• Stay on the 'Customize Settings' page and scroll down to 'Things Others Share.' Here, you'll want to edit and disable settings so that your friends are unable to write on your wall, comment on posts and check you in to places.

• Return to the 'Privacy Settings' page and, under 'Apps and Websites' in the bottom-left corner, select 'Edit Your Settings.' This page shows all of the third-party websites and applications that you have given access to some of your Facebook information. If you see anything on this list that you want to remove, just click to remove it from the list.

• Stay on the 'Apps and Websites' page, scroll down to 'Instant Personalization' and select 'Edit Settings.' Uncheck the box at the bottom of this page to block other websites from accessing your Facebook interests. Select 'Confirm' when a pop-up asks you if you're sure you want to disable this option.

• Return to the 'Apps and Websites' page, scroll down to 'Public Search' and select 'Edit Settings.' To keep search engines from finding your Facebook profile, un check the box on this new screen.

We Need A Resolution | 2011

If I was asked to describe last year, 2010, with one word it would ‘regret’. To be really honest with you, 2009 wasn’t the most amazing year of my life either.

A good friend once told me, “What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” I can only answer that with saying “well honey, I am the freaking incredible hulk”, but alhamdulilah I am grateful for what Allah has blessed with me and these recent struggles will at least shed some sins off my back.

I realized that we all talk a good game till we are faced some fitna. So it’s important to pay heed to others mistakes and for starters, our own. Since we are a few weeks in,here are a few lessons I have learned that might help make 2011 the most amazing year of your life bidnillah.

1. Be Selfish With Your Time

Not too selfish, but put yourself first No one else will.
By that I mean, countless hours outside your home(masjid, friends, etc) are taking the time away from something. Time for you to reflect on where you stand with your life goals, and how to achieve those goals and desires. Don’t let time management issues or lack of prioritizing your life get the best of you.

2. Be Picky About Who You Keep Around You

Needless to say, not every person you keep around you is going to bring you benefit. Sometimes all you need is Allah and one good friend to keep you from not going insane due to seclusion.

3. The Double Edge Sword

Activism and volunteering come second nature to me. It’s really hard for me to just sit at home and only focus on simple day to day tasks (school, work, sleep, chores, cooking etc). I have to have meaning in life, I have to be involved in something bigger than myself. I have had myself neck deep in commitments for the past two years. The past couple of past were mt time to “trim the fat“ on my extracurricular activities. It was honestly too much fun, but unfortunately now i am bored out of my mine. Its time to see what I can do without overburdening myself.

So there you go, my problems of ‘09-’10 without the details. No room to breathe and think, too many friends and distractions plus volunteering overdrive. I forgot how to say no, I forgot how to put people in their place and most importantly and disturbingly, forgot myself in the process.

2011 and this new hijra year look very bright to me. I have examined the problems, reflected on the mistakes and I am now looking forward to making the changes. Unlike Obama’s campaign slogan, these changes will be changes you can REALLY believe in inshaAllah ta ala.

...and we are back on!

Alhamdulilah rabbil alameen!

Over a year of deep slumber and months of lazily searching for my log in information have come to an end. I am back to write and share my thoughts on anything and everything meaningful to me or possible beneficial to you bi'idnillah.

Your Sister

Share Your Story | Expressions Of Muslim Identity *With NPR*

Alhamdulilah Speaking Of Faith With Krista Teppett has an upcoming project where they are asking the Muslim community to share their perspective. You might not have known but the Catholic community was asked to help with a similiar project earlier this year.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY- Below is a link to direct you to the site!

This is a great opportunity for the Muslim community to be heard on a human level, to show the Muslim perspective on life. Take a few minutes and share something bidnillah,InshaAllah I will do the same.

http://www.publicradio.org/applications/formbuilder/user/form_display.php?form_code=1921ea2316f3

Books

About a month ago I got a job at the bookstore in my masjid. Alhamdulilah I have went through a lot of great books and today I picked up a book with a collection of poems.

Heaven Without Stars
A Collection Of Poems in Search Of Peace
By Waleed A. Maktari

One of my favorite peoms in here so far is

Books

Your book of deeds
Are your seeds

From under the throne
They will be blown

By the wind
For those who contend
For the end.

Some books shall land
If good, in the right hand.

If it lands in the left
The you shall be bereft.

If given behind your back
It was because you went off the track.

So do good deeds
And tomorrow you reap the seeds.

Reviving Our Sense of Gheerah

by Fatima Barkatulla

We live in societies in which most men and women have lost their sense of modesty, women are obsessed with their appearances and wear clothes to be seen by others and to attract the attention of other men even if they are married! They have lost their sense of shame. Marriage is often looked upon as old-fashioned and short term affairs and frivolous relationships are the norm, everyone waiting to attract a better partner and feeling totally justified to dump one partner for another at the drop of a hat. Feminism too has reached its peak and men and women are told to suppress their natural emotions. Men are not even embarrassed when their wives are dressed up and attract the attention of other men, they don’t mind if another man sees, chats, laughs and even dances with their womenfolk and if they do mind, they are told not to be so possessive!

In Islam we have a concept of Gheerah. Gheerah is an Arabic word which means protectiveness or jealousy. It is a good type of jealousy, like when a man feels jealous or protective over his wife or sisters and other-womenfolk and doesn’t like other men to look at them. It is a natural inbuilt feeling Allah has given men and women. The Prophet (SAW) had the most Gheerah for his wives and all of the companions were known for their Gheerah. All Muslim men should have a collective sense of protectiveness for Muslim women as Allah says in the Qur’an: “The Men are the protectors and maintainers of women…” (Surah An-Nisaa, Ayah 34). Men who do not care about how their women behave and appear in front of other men and don’t enforce hijaab upon their wives or women-folk are called Dayyooth. Being a Dayyooth is a major sin and a detailed discription of this evil characteristic can be found in adh-Dhahabee’s book of Major Sins (Kitaab ul-Kabaa’ir).
A story of Gheerah

To further understand the quality of Gheerah, we can look at an incident that Asmaa’ (RA) the daughter of Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq (RA) and sister of Aisha (RA), relates about herself. Abu Bakr was a wealthy merchant and he married his daughter Asmaa’ to the great companion Az-Zubayr ibn al-’Awwam (RA) who was a very poor man but a man of great piety and one of the companions who were promised Paradise. Asmaa’ relates: “When az-Zubayr married me, he had neither land nor wealth nor slave…”, so Asmaa’ had to work very hard kneading dough, going far off to get water. “And I used to carry on my head,” she continues, “the date stones from the land of az-Zubair which Allah’s Messenger (SAW) had endowed him and it was a distance of two miles from Madeenah. One day, as I was carrying the date-stones upon my head, I happened to meet Allah’s Messenger (SAW), along with a group of his Companions. He called me and told the camel to sit down so that he could make me ride behind him. I felt shy to go with men and I remembered az-Zubair and his Gheerah and he was a man having the most Gheerah. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) understood my shyness and left. I came to az-Zubair and said: “The Messenger of Allah (SAW) met me as I was carrying date-stones upon my head and there was with him a group of his Companions. He told the camel to kneel so that I could mount it, but I felt shy and I remembered your Gheerah.” So Asmaa’ declined the offer made by the Prophet (SAW). Upon this az-Zubair said: “By Allah, the thought of you carrying date-stones upon your head is more severe a burden on me than you riding with him.” (related in Saheeh Bukhari)

Look at the sense of dignity and modesty of Asmaa’! See how she felt shy in front of men? See how careful she was about her husband’s feelings? She knew that her husband had a lot of Gheerah so she didn’t want to upset him by accepting the Prophet’s (SAW) help even though the Prophet was the purest of men and even though it meant bringing hardship on herself! And look at az-Zubair (RA), even though he had a lot of Gheerah, he didn’t want to inconvenience his wife. What a beautiful relationship they had!


Nurturing our sense of Gheerah

Sometimes Muslim women don’t understand if their menfolk want them to cover their faces or if they ask them to change something about the way they dress or speak in public, thinking that the men are being over-protective. But my dear sisters! If your husband asks you not to wear a certain colour of khimaar because it brings out the beauty of your eyes, or if he wants you to cover your face - by Allah, be thankful! Be proud of the fact that your husband has a sense of Gheerah for you and that he values you and cares for your hereafter. He knows what men can be like more than you do and so never try and suppress his Gheerah in these types of matters. And his concern for you should incite your own sense of honour! Why should any man be able to see your beauty and think indecent thoughts about you? We must nurture our own and our menfolk’s sense of Gheerah by behaving and dressing modestly ourselves and paying attention to their valid opinions. We expect certain behaviour from them and they expect it of us. And besides, if our husband asks us to do something that it not Haraam, we must do it.

Subhan Allah! Look at the difference between how Islam values and protects women and how cheaply women are treated outside of Islam! As Muslims we have to be careful that our Hayaa’ (sense of modesty and shame) and Gheerah doesn’t wear out in a society in which people have lost their Hayaa’ and Gheerah.

courtesy of IslamicAwakening.com