my nephew, my love

Inside Augsburg: Inside the world of Islam

I'm waaay in the background if you really wanna see me! ahahhaha

http://augnet.augsburg.edu/news-archives/2010/03_01_10/islam_week.html

Muslim Student Association at Augsburg

Ah, procrastination! I have been meaning to write this entry ever since Islam Awareness Week happened! But things keep popping up that I HAVE to resolve or further procrastinate on (like homework, hehe) so life has been terribly busy. However, my beloved Islam Awareness Week definitely deserves a blog entry so here it is!

First off, let me introduce Muslim Student Association at Augsburg College. Since the majority of the Muslims at Augsburg are Somali anyway, the Board is also Somali (other than me of course!). So the President is Najib Isse, a wonderful wonderful man who has truly worked very hard to make MSA what it is today. To top off his hard work and sincerity, he does everything for the sake of Allah which makes his efforts even more fruitful and sincere in my Muslim opinion. Hehe. As you might have figured out by now, I am much of a procrastinator and though I love MSA and I love talking about Islam and engaging in inter-faith dialogue, I am such a lazy bum that I need to be pushed to do stuff. So Najib Isse gave me that initial push I needed to help him get MSA going. So though I don’t like complimenting people when they are around, I have often told other Somalis and Muslims that Najib is why MSA is where it is today.

So back to the Board…I am the Vice President. The Treasurer is Ifrah Yassin, a great girl who is also willing to put in a lot of effort. The Public Relations Officer is Abdiaziz Farah, another really cool guy who is very sweet, always has my back, and does good work. There used to be other MSA board members but for one reason or the other, they kinda dwindled, went off track, and got off the Board. So primarily, Islam Awareness Week (henceforth written as IAW) was a venture of Allah SWT and four people.

Now that I have introduced the Board to you, I want to talk a bit about what MSA does. This is actually the first year that MSA has been super active. We have been holding weekly meetings where Najib starts off by reading one of the traditions or sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The sayings can be about anything, ranging from specific Muslim worship to good deeds that one must do not just in order to be a good human being but also in order to be a good Muslim. Sayings like “None of you truly believes till he loves for his brother (for another human being) what he loves for himself” and reminders like “Beware of jealousy and envy, for indeed jealousy and envy consume one’s good deeds like fire consumes wood.” Simple reminders that not only make us a good Muslim but also a good conscientious human being are a great way to start our MSA meetings. Then we jump onto topics like events coming up, review of previous events, etc.

Every month, MSA has two events. One is called a “Sisters’ Halaqa” and the other is called “Islamic Stereotype Discussion.” You may wonder why the halaqa is called a “sister’s” Halaqa. In Islam, we believe that all Muslims are brothers and sisters of each other. This is because we believe that we are all Children of Adam and Hawwa (Eve). This not only reminds us to be respectful and kind to each other, but also helps keep our modesty and actions in check. If a man calls a woman his sister, then it is less likely he will ‘check her out’ or pass a rude comment about her in front of her or behind her back. So this event is called the sisters’ halaqa because it is only for women.

The Muslim men in our Augsburg community generally have more access to masjids (mosques) and thus can easily go for refreshers of their imaan (faith) whenever they like. Since the women are either international students (like me) who don’t have cars or know the area well enough, or are commuters who don’t get the chance to go to masjid anyway, we have attempted to bring scholars of Islam to them. In Islam, we believe that religion and faith are not restricted to a certain time of the year or week or even the day. Islam is a way of life for us and for that, we need to continuously learn about it, refresh our imaan by listening to scholars or speakers who remind us what our purpose of existence is and thus, we are better able to follow our religion. This might seem strange to people of other religions but that is how I see it at least.

Thus happens the Sisters Halaqa. The other monthly event is Islamic Stereotype Discussion where MSA welcomes non-Muslims to come and discuss their notions about Islam and understand and consequently break the stereotypes associated with Islam and Muslims. It makes a good discussion.

Ahh, I ramble a lot. Now that I have gotten into details about the MSA instead of write about IAW, I’ll make a separate post for it. It’s only fair! :P

Love Deprivation

Whilst leaving, I thought I'd leave you with another poem to think about! ;)

LOVE DEPRIVATION

First day in the USA,

I bump into a stuttering grey head

Who talks about her bull terrier

For sixteen polite minutes.

As she hushes Poochie

With a “Quiet, honey, Mama’s talking!”

I wonder why she thinks

The dog can impregnate the void

Love has bore in her womb.

A much needed update!

So I've been really absent and I apologize for that. Life has been so crazy busy! I remember that last year, when I was the new, quiet international student who never spoke up unless called upon, I had timidly joined the core committee of International Student Organization. The President of ISO at the time, was a senior; much involved in many things around campus. After I had landed the job of Community Advisor with Res Life and the AugSem Leader position, I had updated my status on Facebook with something like this: "I think I have put too much on my plate for next year!" The President had come up to me the next time we met and had awkwardly sorta-hugged me from the side (because I don't hug guys; not comfortable with physical contact!) and said, "I'm sorry but it's gonna get worse each year!"

And my, was he right! Though he has graduated from the college, I think of him often now, just because he said this to me once. I'm sure he doesn't even remember it now. But said it, he did and his prophecy came true. Life seems something like a hurricane and a roller coaster now. I'm doing all these things already but now I want to start experiencing new things, new organizations, new jobs etc so I have already started thinking about next year. (Crazy, right? The semester has just begun!) I think instead of being a board member of ISO (which I have been for 2 years now) and writing/editing for the yearbook (also what I have been doing for two years), I will join other organizations more related to my major. I think I will join Murphy Square, the literary and visual arts publication, and also The Echo, the college newspaper. I already started volunteering with Campus Kitchen as well and I know I want to run for President of the Muslim Student Association. I have also already applied for a Lead Staff position with Residence Life and I want to continue working for the CLASS Office (Oh, I haven't mentioned this before but I got upgraded; I was a Proctor with the CLASS Office before but now I am a Lab Assistant). I am also hoping to land the Asian Students in Action Scholarship again inshaAllah (God-Willing) so I will continue to be a Student Mentor inshaAllah.

You think that's enough to keep me busy? Res Life, CLASS office, MSA, The Echo, Murphy Square, Campus Kitchen, Student Mentor, and of course a blogger for the International Admissions webpage (inshAllah)? Sounds good? Or is that piling too much on my plate too?

Other than the work and volunteer front, life has been good al-hamdulillah (praise be to God). I recently became an aunt for the first time mashAllah (by the will of God)! My nephew, Ahad Usman Malik, came into this world on 22nd December 2009, and lit up all our worlds! Everyone is super excited about him; my parents back home, my brother, my sister-in-law, and me of course! It's the first baby of the family. I am no longer the youngest one! ;)

Pictures of Ahad coming soon inshaAllah. Look out for them!

Take care now. Peace, love, and blessings to everyone!

Swimming in the Scent

Another poem I wrote last semester. It still aptly describes how i feel sometimes. Enjoy!

Prose poem: Swimming in the scent

It breathes when you least expect it. In the middle of the day after eight months of stay when you are swamped by four humongous assignments and friends are calling you to watch a movie and you feel that all this has never felt more natural, it wafts slowly behind you, perhaps from under the door, or carried by the fresh breeze, or in the dying scent in the sleeve of a blouse you haven’t worn in two months. It breathes on your neck and makes you unable to inhale. It caresses your cheek and then goes on its way. Sometimes it’s the merry thirst of coffee beans brewing in the way they only burst forth and pervade the coffee shops on New York airport. Often times it’s the incense of a Somali perfume, characteristic of the way your dorm room smelled the first time you entered it. It’s the aroma which accompanied the swimming of your insides and the hollow beating of your heart when you first sat alone in an airport, unable to anticipate your future in a foreign country. It is the whiff that still catches you unawares and makes you as nervous and awkward even after months of staying here. It is the first odor of the USA, your first breath here, the first swoon of independence and fear.

TIME

A poem I wrote in my first year here in the USA when I was making the transition of settling in the USA. Just so that it's clearer to you...I am obviously here in the USA, the 'her' mentioned in the poem is my best friend who lives in London, and my family is obviously in Pakistan...the time difference between Pakistan and USA is around 11-12 hours and they are ahead of the US; the difference between England and USA is 6 hours and again, they are ahead of us! That's the backdrop of the poem! ENJOY!!

TIME

As I look out

the window,

the sun

coldly sets.

Eleven hours

too late.

Six hours

too late.

(I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.)

As I get out of bed here,

on a rain-swept morn,

in the city cuddled

by River Thames

she walks home

from work

under dusky twilight

smiling but worn out-

on another continent

my family is playing Rang

as the maid lays out dinner,

and sleep will beckon

in just a while.

I am displaced.

Time is misplaced.

If it is the purple streaked

Dawn six strokes past midnight

Here in the US,

And the radiant glory of noon

Where she resides,

While the evening crow

Caws 5 p.m. in the country

I have left behind,

What is the real time?

Am I lagging behind

In time, in life, in fear,

Tagging after the bustling

Sun that sets too soon

In my homeland?

I used to fist the stars

And the sun and hide

Them in my bosom.

But is the sun really mine?

It visits me here

Once it has burst forth

On those it prefers

And then just

Sets here in the West.

Time escapes me.

The sun negates me.

(I think I made you up inside my head).