Hiatus

Truth & Beauty is going on hiatus.

I don't know if I can articulate all the reasons why, but I find myself in need of a spiritual retreat.

I may return someday, insha-Allah.

Thank you to everyone who has read over the years, particularly when I was unwell. Your prayers and solidarity were truly part of my sustenance during that difficult time and I have come to deeply value our diverse, thoughtful and supportive Blogistan community.

I hope to continue posting photos at Beauty in Creation

I leave you with a beautiful article by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf on the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him, whose parting words were:

"Treat your women well, and do not oppress your servants, the prayer, the prayer, don’t be neglectful of the prayer. O God, my highest companion, O highest companion."

May we all grow in love for him and the Lord of us all, ameen.

My deepest respect and blessings to you all. Please keep me in your prayers.

Thank you for your companionship on this journey.

The 8th Carnival of Islam in the West

Welcome to the April 13, 2007 edition of the Carnival of Islam in the West!

We start off with an anonymous poetry submission and then dive deep into our many interesting, provocative and insightful blog entries.

Enjoy!

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Halal Love Scene#1

Day # 7

You and I sprawl
awkwardly on grass
I watch you gaze
out on sunny street
What you thinking about
I ask
I expect to get
my mommas house
last night’s dinner
The Stills
Rosario Dawson
Jittaun and Farid
My sister’s purple hijab that sat on a tree and shot off to the moon just to see the world in 80 days

But all I hear
in response
is plain as bread
sweet as honey
“You”

- MA, Copyright 2007

Education and Life

Dal Nun Strong presents British Muslims and housing: Part 1 - a statistical look posted at A Muslim Think-tank, the first of a four-part series on Muslims in Britain and housing, mortgages and renting.

Yahya Birt presents Between Confinement and Freedom posted at Yahya Birt - Musings on the Britannic Crescent, a review of Orhan Pamuk's seventh novel, Snow, which brilliantly explores political and religious tensions in contemporary Turkey.

Abdur Rahman presents Writing as Catharsis posted at Abdur Rahman's Corner, exploring intentionality in writing.

Anneesa presents Through a Muslimah’s Veil posted at Anneesa, exploring how it feels to be a hijabi in a "small, racial discriminating and religion intolerant town."

Zahra presents they don't make 'em like they used to: a tribute posted at l'atitude, a heartfelt post on the joys of and attachment to her faithful clock.

IbnAbeeOmar presents Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die posted at muslimmatters.org. a review of the book Made to Stick and utilizing its concepts in da'wah (outreach).

Ruth Nasrullah presents White American Muslim posted at muslimmatters.org, a personal account of the automatic "otherizing,"displacement and questions that convert women can face when they put on the hijab.

Abu Muhammad presents The Dialogue that Started with a Firefly posted at Non Skeptical Essays, a thoughtful account of trying to answer a child's questions about God and nature.

Almiskeenah presents A Ramble posted at Almiskeenah, celebrating the glory of and Divine signs in spring.

Shazia Mistry presents Life as a Muslim posted at Nisaa, we are muslim women, looking back to find inspiration in Islamic history and looking ahead to her sons growing up in the same tradition.

Muse presents Barrier posted at Between Hope & Fear, a reflection on an ordinary being striving to understand the extraordinary.

Maliha presents As moments turn posted at Lightness of Being...., a study of trying to stay in touch - not just in fleeting contact - with reality.

History and Science

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira presents Joseph Ki-Zerbo 1922-2006 posted at Al-Baal, a reflection on the passing of the first African professor of history in Paris.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira presents Chinese Calligrapher posted at Al-Baal, about Haji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang who has beautifully synthesized Chinese and Arabic calligraphy.

News and Politics

AnonyMouse presents Soccers & Hijab, Maybe? But SAUNAS & Hijab?! posted at muslimmatters.org, a personal comment on a news article about a Muslim woman wearing an abayah to a public sauna.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira presents Sweden's first working minaret posted at Al-Baal, marking the first time Swedish Muslims will be allowed to use a minaret in the traditional sense, calling out to prayer five times a day.

Aaminah Hernandez presents Tolerance posted at Writeous Sister, her thoughts on receiving a solicitation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Sadia Asghar presents Fearless Female: Mukhtaran Mai posted at zindagi ek safar, a defense of Mukhtaran Mai and review of the recent documentary on her life entitled, Shame.

Baraka presents Under the Mask posted at Truth & Beauty, a look at the impact of foreign aid and workers on Pakistani culture and a call for international development that is respectful of indigenous cultures and peoples.

Religion and Philosophy

Abdur Rahman presents Reflecting on Anger posted at Abdur Rahman's Corner, on how to subvert anger into a positive force in one's life.

Atiya presents The Ascending Pathways posted at Islam from the Inside, a beautiful reflection on spiritual and physical mountains and paths.

Azmi Mufti presents Shia Sunni Muslim Division and Split of Islam posted at Shia, highlights an interview with two Sunni and Shia imams exploring the similarities and differences between the sects.

Tiel Aisha Ansari presents Learning To Remember posted at Knocking From Inside, on "unforgetting."

Irving Karchmar presents The Upward Glance and the Lowest Bow posted at Darvish, an utterly gorgeous post on true dhikr and submission.

Sadiq M. Alam presents Peaceful Warrior and Jihad in Islam posted at Inspirations and Creative Thoughts, positing that a jihadist can just as easily be termed a peaceful warrior.

Shabana Mir presents I am a walking religion posted at Koonj, regarding how Muslims are never perceived as individuals as people of other faiths are, but, are, instead, limited to their religious affiliation.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira presents Battling faulty sharia law posted at Al-Baal, regarding the attempts to rectify Pakistan's unfair (and irreligious) rape law.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira presents Salam Café Australia! posted at Al-Baal, on the new Australian Muslim chat show.

Amad presents Between Natural and Religious Loyalties: Part I, II, and III posted at muslimmatters.org, which outlines a Muslim's natural loyalties to people, selves, and countries – while at the same time affirming our loyalty to our beliefs and the message of Islam.

Yasir Qadhi presents The Funeral Prayer in Absentia posted at muslimmatters.org, a study of the permissibility of this type of funeral prayer.

Lawrence of Arabia presents Falasafia and Kalam: Concerning justice posted at revolt in the desert, which explores the role that reason must play in any knowledge of God.

Ibrahim N. Abusharif presents Integrity and Intelligence posted at From Clay, a look at the ways fiction can be a conveyor of truth and a call to think about the virtues of intelligence and integrity.

Svend presents Salafis, Kalam, complexities and hijab at Akram's Razor, a study of how profound notions often get mangled and/or selectively invoked in contemporary Islamic thought, including by otherwise reliable scholars.

Ali Eteraz presents A Muslim of conscience's bullet point attack on apostasy posted at Eteraz, de-legitimizing killing people for leaving Islam.

The State of The Ummah

Aamninah Hernandez presents the Mawlid Blog Carnival posted at Writeous Sister, a collection of wonderful posts in honor of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him).

Razib presents Infidel- The Review posted at Gene Expression, a look at Ayaan Hirsi Ali's latest book.

Ali Eteraz of Eteraz.org presents Dissent is now ok, but only for Muslims, his first entry posted at the Huffington Post.

Shahed Amanullah presents Promoting Civic Action and Involvement posted at AltMuslim, heradling the launch of a global Muslim activist site, Unitedmuslims.org.

Zachary Karabell presents Enough already with the 'trouble with Islam' posted at the Huffington Post, a reflection on the rewriting of history.

Umm Zaid presents Saved by Bakhtiar posted at Sunni Sister, critiquing the new English translation of the Qur'an by female scholar Laleh Bakhtiar, which has been lauded by the New York Times and Western press.

Yahya Birt presents Between Nation and Umma: Muslim Loyalty in a Globalizing World posted at Yahya Birt - Musings on the Britannic Crescent, a discussion of loyalty and belonging in the 21st century, exploring how Muslims can balance their attachment to the umma and to the nation in a politically unstable and globalizing world.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira presents Women Praying & Sultan Qaboos Mosque posted at Al-Baal, reiterating the right of Muslim women to pray in a mosque if they wish

Abu Muhammad presents Is Javed Ghamidi a True Scholar? posted at Non Skeptical Essays, a look at traditionalist and modernist scholars.

Hijabman presents The Day "Imam" became a Four Letter Word at Hijabman, a personal account of his journey toward becoming an imam, and his subsequent change of heart.

Tawfique presents On the Plight of Brotherhood posted at muslimmatters.org, rediscovers the parable of the three bulls.

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Jazak Allah khair to all the participants and those who nominated entries by other bloggers and a jumah mubarik to all!

Please submit your blog article to the 9th Carnival of Islam in the West here by May 10th.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on the carnival index page and the next host will be Personal Qur'an on Friday, May 11, 2007.

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Technorati tags:

the carnival of islam in the west, blog carnival.

Miracle

Gabriella Lomenzo cuddles Miracle, a miniature colt born prematurely six days ago at her home in Waco, Texas. Her family discovered the foal by accident. Veterinarians said it was one of the smallest survivors they had ever seen.

Beauty in creation

Heart
Originally uploaded by _Baraka_.

If you're a Muslim woman photographer, please join our Flickr group "Beauty in Creation."

Our April challenge is "spring." Photos taken from March 21, 2007 onwards are eligible for the challenge but you may upload photos of any date to the general pool.

Certain happiness

Are there rules to attain happiness?

And if there were, could they be found on a $34 pewter paperweight?

5 Rules for Happiness

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Google Earth & Darfur

The SF Chronicle reports today:

To raise awareness about Darfur, Google Earth now lets users zoom into images of burned villages, wounded children.

The United Nations has said that more than 200,000 people, many of them Darfur civilians, have died and 2.5 million have been displaced in the conflict.

"We're joining [with the Holocaust Memorial Museum] in this initiative because the situation in Darfur is a global catastrophe, and because we believe technology can be a catalyst for education, for understanding and for importantly, action," Elliot Schrage, Google's vice president of global communications and public affairs, said at a press conference in Washington.

Among the hundreds of locations highlighted with icons that resemble flames and tents on Google Earth are the remnants of small villages that had allegedly been set ablaze. Users can zoom in on the black outlines of huts and livestock pens dotting the savannah.

Pop-up windows tell part of the story: For example, in Ganbi, 237 of 259 buildings are listed as being destroyed. In all, more than 1,600 damaged villages are highlighted on the service, along with overhead images of large refugee camps, where thousands of Darfur residents have fled for food and safety.

Land-based photography is made available showing what's described as a government soldier looting a home, a government helicopter that had just strafed a village below and the disfigured face of a torture victim. Images of daily life and testimonials about attacks are also available.

Pakistani percentages

I came upon this very cute quiz designed by McPagal!

Arey, you are 58% Pakistani!

Shabash puut, your score puts you in the ranks of the REAL Pakistanis! Have some lassi to celebrate - maybe it'll encourage your true character to come out more often.

How Pakistani are you? (first class number one!)
Create a Quiz

"If you scored over 50% you can be proud to say you're officially Pakistani - whether your passport agrees or not! If not, then I'm afraid you're a loser. Please go home.

How Pakistani are you? (first class number one!) was created by aunty of the pind (AKA Mcpagal!)"

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So, how Pakistani are you?

Poetry Monday: Su'ad Abdul-Khabeer

By Su'ad Abdul-Khabeer

some of my sisters
are in combat
with ideas newly born and words older than the world;
yet, to cover or not to cover
Is not my battleground.

Because
among His signs is
watching your sista
hi-jab
the painstakingly smooth way
she pins, wraps, folds, tucks
her crown into place.
Because I wear it well,
this divine design.
whether wrapped high
or draped low and wide,
what better garment
for a Queen
than her crown?
And a beautiful person is a Godly thing.

To cover or not to cover
Is not my battleground.

They’d like to paint me
unseen
with a veil gagging my intellect,
while in truth the whole world is clocking
this invisible woman.

Young men in fitted caps
whisper
“Damn”
deep in sly glances,
Others offer courtesies in appreciation.
Women honor us openly or
with their arrogance,
And the press
can’t get enough of us.
See, clothes do not hide the woman
They announce her.

To cover or not to cover
Is not my battleground.

...And which of the favors of your lord will ye deny?
Not a one.
I am the world’s most visible creature
And His most beautiful.

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(Hat tip: ZP)