Memoirs of an American Muslim V.02

Yesterday I went with my Imam to the regional medical center to visit a brother who is dying of pancreatic cancer. I have visited a lot of individuals in hospitals over the years with my Imam, and it is something that is considered a good deed in Islam to visit the sick. However, most visits to the hospital are visiting individuals that I don’t know that well, or people who are temporarily in the hospital and are to get better and be discharged. Yesterday’s visit was very different however. Memories came flooding back to my mind of when my dear friend Nabeel Khan (may Allah have mercy upon him) passed away, as for the second time in my life, I was visiting a friend (or family friend) whom I had known in better times, and was shocked to see what the cancer had done to his health.

Seeing this brother in the hospital was not easy for me, and it really made me feel ashamed of myself. It seems like every day of my life, I go throughout my days worrying about things. Whether it be worrying about school, work, or other things, I realized my times are consumed with things that really don’t matter in the bigger scheme of things. The day will come when we will all be lying on our death beds, and all the day to day activities will have been a speck on the glass of our lives. This brother really made me want to cry when we visited him yesterday, because his spirits were so high, and he kept praising Allah (swt), and was so strong in his faith that I felt meager in comparison.

Later on in the day, I talked with my friend E about this, and he had told me it had been on his mind a lot lately as well. E made a good point as well, saying that death is the one thing that is certain for every human being on this earth, and we all know that we are heading in that direction, however it is the hardest thing to be prepared for. This made me begin to think why this was. What makes it so hard for us, as human beings, to always live our lives with death in mind. To me, it would seem, that if we did live each and every day as if it were to be our last, then we would probably be more productive, worry less, and take advantage of each and every opportunity that came out way. But, for some reason, this is a major challenge, and one I am struggling to figure out.

* AM *

I feel good…

No, I mean it, I really feel good. I feel good about everything at the moment. About life, about friends, about family, about work, about school, about humanity. I just feel like everything is going great, especially after getting off the best weekend I have had in quite some time…

Speaking of which… I think I am suffering from Burn Out… Not as bad as I have in the past, but definitely I feel it at the moment. All weekend, my only desire was to do nothing… At the moment, my writing doesn’t even seem to be as inspired as I usually find it to be…

I know, I have this plan that I need to follow through with. After I finish my degree, I am going to take a few months off and head to Iran… Yes I said it you stupid FBI jerks!! Going to Iran, 1/3 of the Axis of Evil, and a terrorist country….  Remember, Iran has a nuclear program everyone!!!

Ok, sorry about that… I am just really upset lately with all this anti-Iran stuff…. Anyhow, yes, I will take some time off and go to Iran and sit in the house my father built for me and my brothers, and write… I want to write a book, or two, or three… I just want to let my fingers flow across the keyboard and see what comes out. I feel I have something within me that I need to let out… And the United States is not the place where it will happen…

But yeah, Iran… I really look forward to it… Time so that I can do some serious soul searching, express myself through my writing, and recover from this painful world….

InshAllah….

A dear friend recently made a statement that got me to thinking…

I asked him why he decided to leave an online social network, and he responded quite sincerely and honestly that he had to simply walk away…

I think it is time for me to walk away for some things. The last few days I feel like I have gotten lost in this illusion we call dunya. I think it is far past time for me to walk away from some things.

Some things may prove easier for me to walk away from, while others may prove more difficult…

I must walk away… I am left with little choice… I cannot accept failure as an option…

I must do it for Allah’s sake… I must do it for my soul…. I must do it for my family… I must do it for humanity…. Allah is my Lord and in Him alone do I find salvation…

“I don’t want a part of it no more…. I don’t want Allah to see my faults…”

* AM *

Ok, I am excited! I have been a fan of Native Deen for close to 10 years now, from the time when they were just known as MYNA Raps. Their second album as Native Deen is set to come out later this month. Check the link below to find out more info. And then check out themusic video for their first single from the album below.

Click Here for More Info on Native Deen’s new Album

Currently on vacation. I could post in my blog, but we all need a break some times, even if we have to force ourselves to it. Will be back soon. Have a lot to write about then.

Source: Wikipedia

Timothy Thomas was a 19-year old African-American man who was fatally shot by a Cincinnati police officer in 2001. Thomas was the fifteenth African-American man killed by the Cincinnati Police Department in five years, and his death led to outrage in the black community that culminated with the 2001 Cincinnati Riots.

On April 8, 2001, Thomas was seen by Cincinnati police officers and recognized as being wanted on 19 outstanding warrants. When Thomas realized he knew one of the officers, he fled. In a subsequent chase involving a dozen additional officers, Thomas was eventually confronted by Officer Steven Roach, in a dark alley. Roach was running with his gun out (standard procedure) but with his finger on the trigger, something in direct opposition to the most basic gun handling procedure taught to police. Immediately after the incident, Roach said the gun had “just gone off” in his hand. Later, Roach claimed to have seen a gun, and later revised his story to claim that he only saw Thomas reaching for something at his waist, and Roach fired his gun once at Thomas. It was later revealed Thomas was unarmed, but may have been attempting to pull up his pants. After Thomas fell, Officer Roach called for an ambulance, and when Thomas arrived at University Hospital, he was declared dead. Thomas was the father of one child and son of Angela Leisure.

By Ali G. Scotten, Fri Jan 19, 4:00 AM ET

TEHRAN, IRAN - ‘What do Americans think about us?” asked an old lady on the bus. That was the question most often asked of me during my three-month stay in Iran last year. Messages to the American people were also common. “Tell the Americans that we’re not crazy, scary people,” she continued. Her comment came after she and others had been dancing in the aisle (with curtains drawn so the police wouldn’t see) while the rest of us - along with the driver - clapped as we raced down the highway. So maybe they are crazy. But in a good way.

Many Westerners are afraid to come to the Middle East nowadays, and understandably so. But it’s at times like these when face-to-face contact is most crucial. As I traveled alone through the Iranian countryside conducting anthropological research, I took note of local opinions about US-Iran relations. I was heartened by what I heard.

While I’d often visited Iran as a child, the current political situation in the region made me apprehensive about taking the trip. Tensions were rising - as they still are today - over Iran’s pursuit of nuclear enrichment, and there were reports in the American media of possible military action against Iranian targets.

Beyond mere hospitality, authentic affection for America
However, I was soon put at ease. After speaking with numerous Iranians from all walks of life - lower and upper class, religious and secular, Westernized and traditional, government- affiliated and civilian - I became convinced that this vilified member of the “Axis of Evil” is actually one of the most welcoming places for Americans to travel in the Middle East. Indeed, all Iranians with whom I spoke shared a positive opinion of Ameri- cans.

Iranians don’t hate America. On the contrary, many of them envy Americans to an unrealistic degree and think of the US as a paradise, a land where no problems exist.

One encounters this sentiment in even the most unexpected places. For instance, when I ran into problems renewing my visa, an austere senior official at the immigration ministry offered to help. “Because you’re American, I’ll do this for you,” he said. This was not unusual. Generally friendly to foreigners, Iranians were especially friendly to me once they discovered I was American. It was as if they were trying to prove a point. “Go home and tell the Americans we like them,” the official continued. “You know, I have family in Chicago. Can you help me go see them?” On the way out, a soldier in the lobby was excited to see my passport, handling it as one would a priceless object. “How can I come study in America?” he wanted to know.

Paralleling Iranians’ favorable opinions of Americans as a people, however, is their unified opposition to any US government intervention in their country. This directly contradicts what Vice President Cheney and others believe - that if the US were to attack, the population would rise up to help the Americans fight the Iranian regime. Judging from my experience, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, US intervention seems to be the only issue that will unite most Iranians with the Islamic regime.

We can blame the Bush administration’s poor grasp of daily realities in Iran on an almost three-decade-long freeze of contact between the American and Iranian governments. As a result of this isolation, so-called experts who have never been to Iran (or at least not since the Islamic Revolution of 1979) advise US government officials on the opinions of the Iranian populace. The comment by one influential US scholar comparing Iran to a concentration camp in which people would rather be bombed than live another day under such conditions, is a glaring example of misinformation.

At a private party in a trendy suburb of Tehran, I sat down with a group of young professionals as they relaxed after a busy workweek. Iran is not like a concentration camp, they assured me. Yes, they’re repressed by government restrictions, but they find ways to get around them. And the situation is certainly not to the point of rising up against the regime.

In fact, politics was the last thing on their minds - that is, until I brought up the possibility of US intervention. “As much as I despise this regime, I love my country more,” said Reza, a 20-something. “If America were to attack Iran, I would be the first to lay down my life. Ask anyone and you’ll hear the same.”

*** Read Full Article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070119/cm_csm/yscotten ***