Muslim Am I

Does the lesson echo?

2009-04-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

Heard this lovely example on behavior last week at a Friday prayer sermon given in a mosque in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

A father left his son in his village and went off to work. The child went to some nearby caves to play. The cave was very dark and he was afraid there was someone inside,.

He shouted, 'Is anyone here?'

A voice replied, 'Is anyone here?'

The child asked surprised, 'What is your name?'

The voice replied, 'What is your name?'

The child was a bit annoyed at this answer and shouted, 'Tell me your name!'

The voice replied with same force, 'Tell me your name!'

The child then became angry and started to hurl abuse at the voice in the cave, the voice responded by hurling abuse back. The child left without entering the cave, angry that the voice inside had been so rude to him.

Later on his father came back and saw that there was something on his son's mind and asked him what was the matter, He told him about his experience in the cave. The father realised what had happened and took his son back to the cave and wished to teach him a lesson.

When they reached the cave the father shouted, 'Assalaamualaikum (peace be upon you)!'

The voice replied, 'Assalaamualaikum (peace be upon you)!'

The father continued, 'I hope you are well, and may God bless you.'

The voice replied in an equally considerate way, 'I hope you are well, and may God bless you.'

The father ended, 'God grant you a long life, goodbye.'

The voice replied, 'God grant you a long life, goodbye'.

The child was surprised. As they walked back he asked his father why the voice had been so rude with him but so polite with his father. His father replied, the way you behave with others affects the way they behave with you. You were angry and rude so the voice was angry and rude in return. I behaved well and that's why the voice was polite back to me.

The imam went on to give many examples of how actions eventually come back to a person both in this world and the next. Good rewared by good and vice versa.

Guide to Personal Pronouns

2009-04-10T07:52:00.001-07:00

Introduction

Pronouns are nouns in Arabic, the term used for pronouns is ضمير sing. and ضمائر pl. Literally the word ضمير means conscience or inner most self. In Arabic they are جامد or fixed nouns and are used as a substitute for a noun. As they are nouns they possess the four properties of a noun contained in the acronym CDGP. In addition to these four they also possess two additional properties: person and attachment. Depending on a pronoun’s properties the form in which it is written and its position relative to a related word in a sentence changes.

Examples

· The pronoun I can be written as: أنا or ـتُ or ـيْ or إيا ي

Punctuation guide to prayer

2009-04-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

Life in Saudi Arabia is punctuated by prayer, so wrote some journalist talking about Saudi Arabia. This is very much less so compared to a decade ago but the analogy still holds very much true compared to other parts of the world.

Dwelling on the analogy the following comparisons came to mind when thinking about the various forms of punctuation. Non-muslims may not appreciate the different forms of prayer that exist in Islam, so here is a very brief punctuation guide to prayer:

Fullstops (.)
Muslims have to pray five obligatory prayers in a day. They must stop whatevere they are doing as part of their daily life's activites and perform the prayer, a bit like a fullstop. If they don't they will have committed a major sin. On the other hand performing the five obligatory prayers is a mjor source of reward and a defining character of Islam.

Commas (,)
Muslims can earn extra rewards by praying what are called sunnah prayers. These are akin to commas in punctuation. In othe words they do not have to be prayed but they ae meritorious and introduce a graceful pause in a person's life to allow them to reflect more deeply on the fleeting nature of this world and it's beguiling nature. These prayers bring a person closer to God and help patch defecits in missed prayers from the past.

Question marks (?)
When Muslims come to an important junction in their lives and need God's help in making a decision they have been taught a prayer in which they mention the two alternatives they are thining about and ask God for assistance in choosing the most appropriate and beneficial course of action. This prayer is called صلاة الاستخارة or the Prayer of Choosing. Benefit is not judged just on worldy benefit but is a combination of good in this world and hereafter.

Exclamation mark (!)
When in distress or in trouble it was the practice of the Prophet Muhammad (S) to turn to prayer seeking god's assiatance and help. There are some special prayers which also fit this category such as the prayer of fear when there is an eclipse of either the sun or moon. These natural events are potentn reminders to makind of the all powerful nature of God and are designed to remind ever forgetful man to turn back to god and think about his final destiny beyond the ephemeral nature of this world.

As all analogies are limited by the very nature of the analogy I must stop myself here for this is what has come naturally and easily to the mind. Perhaps it is a way of thinking about prayer that can explain the fullness and importance of prayer to a true believer. If the story of our life is being written daily by our own hands and actions, then for a believer it is puntuatedm shaped and aligned by a code that is the religion of Islam. The fortunate man is whose narrative is best, it has a beginning, a middle and a wonderful ending. To the Muslim the perfect ending is to die as a Muslim especially while performing a righteous act pleasing to God.

May God let the Muslims who are alive today die in a state of belief and let them punctuate their lives with the keys to paradise, prayer.

Saudi Arabia - Time versus money

2009-03-28T01:57:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

Many people ask how is life in Saudi Arabia and of curse there are as many answers as there are people. But one the observations that comes to mind having been here for a while now is that there is a barakah in money but not in time. The word barakah is an Arabic word which stands for blessing. Though headline salaries may not compare as well with Western countries the expenditure here is less. Hence the proverbial buck or riyal lasts longer, food is cheaper, costs are lower, hidden taxes are very low and so on.

The down side is that as the country lies on the high end of the spectrum of regulation and bureaucracy things take time. Work hours also tend to be longer than in the West and perhaps this also contributes to the lack of spending as people have less free time to roam around. by the time the weekend comes (if you are lucky enough to have one in your job) a lot of people spend time sleeping and catching up with missed sleep during the week. Hence things that take a few hours in the West can take many days especially in the beginning.

People across the spectrum in general tend to spend long hours catching up on sleep on the weekend. Their productive non-work lives tend to be consigned to dreams and there is a general soporific effect to the weekends. This is nicely captured in the followng quotation that I came across in an article on sleep on the BBC.

"You speculate on the luxury of wearing out a whole existence in bed, like an oyster in its shell, content with the sluggish ecstasy of inaction." Nathaniel Hawthorne

Switch to Blogger

2009-03-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

I am having trouble with accessing Wordpress, not too sure why, but have switched to Blogger as a result. See you there insha Allah.

I used this useful service: http://wordpress2blogger.appspot.com/

Are you ready for your oldest day?

2009-03-06T00:48:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

I have switched from my Wordpress blog to Blogger, though I like Wordpress but there seems to be an access issue which I can't resolve. The Muslim equivalent of c'est la vie is 'alhamdulillah 'alaa kulli haal' (praise and thanks belong to God in every situation).

This is one is a brain teaser, but speaking with some younger people I reflected on how we always teach the young and emphasise education so that they are well equipped for a time in life when they are older. If you extrapolate this line of thought you naturally get to your oldest day, the moment you die.

How well prepared are we for that day and beyond?

Palestinian Prayer

2009-01-15T23:24:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah:

You roll out of your bed
To the smell of sweet bread,
While I wake to the stench
Of a blood dried bench

You dream of western grass
A summer ready to pass
While nightmares greet me
Ahead of me nothing but misery

You watch silenced by fear
On camera a fake tear
As bleating sheep we die
Sacrificed gentiles to butchers high

Your day ends with the sun setting
You return to your family laughing
As I stand at my families remains crying
Their charred odor their final calling

'Donate' your media mantra
Assuage your people's shallow anger
With your money abound
Your shrouds lower us to the ground

In your prayers your crowds are led
To pray for God to fight in your stead
Did not someone before say
You and Your God go and fight today?

What did you suckle - wet nurse or brute?
That she left you toothless and mute
Fear my prayer for oppressed am I
God change your heart or let you die

Can we boycott Israel?

2009-01-09T10:48:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah seeking God's guidance to the truth.

With the continuing Israeli activities in Gaza the local chatter in the corridors is of people wondering what they can do to help. One of the topics of discussion has been whether or not to boycott Israeli / American companies that support Israel. This blog examines the effectiveness of such actions, the concept of divestment, related fatwas and offers some suggestions on the topic that may be of use.

Starbucks

Over the last few days an email against Starbucks has been circulating claiming profits from Starbucks support Israel. The letter reads likes a spoof but goes down well with receptive audiences here. However it is a fake letter actually authored by a German called Andrew Winkler in 2006. But as Winkler points out he has based this on 'facts'.

However, all the statements I made in that letter about donations, sponsorships, political views etc. - are based on factual Howard Schultz actions and quotes, as 1/2 hour of 'Googling' will easily confirm to anyone interested.

So, would avoiding the over priced coffee and hot chocolate at Starbucks make a difference? What is the effectiveness of such actions?

The economic impact on Israel of a poorly coordinated and consumer led boycott is likely to be minimal. Firstly Israel has economic streams which are independent of any commercial concerns and come straight from the US treasury to the tune of at least $3 billion per year and possibly more. Secondly to make such a boycott effective it would have to be highly coordinated and involve non-Muslim players as a large amount of trade that is done with Israel is not done with Muslim countries anyway. If you Google 'divestment' and 'Israel' you will come up with a number of websites promoting the concept. One that I came across was by the United Methodist Church.

Divestment report by United Methodist Church

Recently I came across a Starbucks boycotting, well educated, person who happens to have a Volvo car. I would not have thought much of that until I read the divestment report by the United Methodist Church. To my surprise Volvo was identified as a company that supports through trade some of the worst activities of Israel. The report had been compiled by a task force including eight clergymen.

The other companies that turned up in the divestment report include Boeing. But the irony of that is that Saudi Airlines has recently ordered a whole new fleet of 61 aircraft from Boeing as they point out on their website.

Hilton Hotel in Makkah

This got me wondering about companies closer to home. If you have been for Umrah or Hajj you will not have failed to notice that the Hilton Hotel sits staring at the Holy Mosque everyday. The Hilton Hotel is a franchise from the Hilton Hotels Corporation which in turn is a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group as noted on Blackstone's website.

Blackstone Group was co-founded by an American billionaire Stephen Schwarzman who remains the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone as of 8th January 2009 according to Reuters. Even the Wikipedia entry on Schwarzman does not makes his religious beliefs clear and you have to dig a bit deeper to find him admit in an interview to the Academy of Achievement that he is a Jew. His Jewish roots are also reiterated in the entry under his name at Nationmaster.com. It would not be unreasonable to conclude that such a prominent person has a soft spot for his fellow Jewry in Israel which could easily express itself in economic terms thanks to, in some part, the flow of revenue from the pilgrims to Makkah.

The complicated nature of the revenue web explains why the consumer boycott is patchy. The well informed consumer is a rarity and the time required to research the issue is not available to most people. It also illustrates the poor degree of coordination and disconnect between consumers on the one hand and the large players, even when they are on the same side.

Is it worth it?

Given the above it may be argued boycotting if of little or no practical use. But if it could be argued that a boycott was meritorious in its own right then though it would not be economically effective it would nevertheless be a source of reward on the Last Day. A spiritual struggle at the very least.

Scholars such as Yusuf Al-Qaradawi supports the boycott of companies supporting Israel. Some Saudi Scholars such as Salih Al-Munajjid also support a boycott. Though there has been reluctance in the past for Saudi scholars to support a coordinated call for a boycott citing examples of the Prophet (S) trading with Jews in Madeenah even though they were the clear enemy within.

The two pro-fatwas call for a balanced approach reflecting the aspirations of Muslims and the stark reality that they face. A fair summary of the fatwas would be: boycotting is a meritorious act if done to please God and aid fellow Muslims but Muslims who are unable to undertake it for genuine reasons are excused.

Suggestions

Pro-Islamic Ratings Agency (PIRA): One suggestion to the people who are involved in organising such boycotts and informational campaigns on divestment/disinvestment is to provide a list alternative 'clean' companies which provide equivalent goods at the same quality price point. The greater the detachment from anti-Islamic activity the higher the ratings.

A similar idea that has been put to good use by a grassroots campaign against the Mafia in Palermo, Sicily. Campaigners are running the Addio Pizzo 'goodbye protection money' website. The campaign is in support of businesses who refuse to pay the enforced protection money payments to the Mafia. The campaign allowed customers to support businesses which have an anti-Mafia stance and allows them to donate money online to these businesses. In essence the internet has allowed a previously poorly coordinated group to rally against the highly coordinated Mafia. This mirrors the situation that Muslims find themselves in today.

PIRA should be aimed both at investment managers and grassroots customers. It should allow people to focus on particular queries such as supporting Israel but also give more complicated ratings taking further variables into account: investment in Islamic countries, benefit accrued to Muslims, transfer of technology and so on. It is very important that there is a clear local element to any such effort allowing consumers to particularise the data to their locale.

Promoting Muslim startups: Where the above process identifies a gap in the market an investment company should be setup to channel the support of consumers to exploit the gap in the market. The aim would be to promote Muslim companies to plug such gaps.

Lobbying: Where people have access to the key decision makers in Muslim polities they should make a stronger economic and ethical case for alternative companies with a pro or neutral stance towards Muslims. A professionally run and researched PIRA will be invaluable in such an endeavour.

Dua: The first port of call of all believers is the call to the source of all strength, God. Let us increase the chances of our duas being accepted by supporting them with our actions.

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Are Muslims living in the past?

2009-01-02T07:59:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah, seeking God's help and mercy.

I can still remember trudging down the wooden staircase inside a lecture theatre to the front to meet the lecturer on anaesthetics. In a brief slide on the history of anaesthesia had begun in Rome and then skipping over the Islamic bit in between he had arrived somewhere in the late 1700s or early 1800s to continue the story of anaesthesia. Those were not the days of Wikipedia which now acknowledges the role of Muslim scientists in its article on anaethesia but I had a pretty good idea that this was not quite an accurate rendition of history. I confronted the lecturer and asked him whether he was aware or not that Muslim scientists in the so called dark middle-ages were performing surgery with anaesthetic equivalents? He was genuinely surprised to hear this and confessed his ignorance. This sufficed as a small yet significant victory and time has rolled on since.

This momentum to set history correct has taken a more concrete shape in the public arena where websites looking at 1001 Muslim inventions in the past have generated Western media articles supportive of recognising the importance of the Muslim heritage to the worlds scientific achievements and progress in the current day. Yet there is a sense that these represent a pyrrhic victory, Muslims now with their past acknowledged are content. They are content to be an object of high value in the distant past, suitably remembered and displayed in the museums of the world. But the emphasis has the potential to lock them into the past. Stuck in a psyche of reminiscence and reliving past glories rather than looking forward to new ones.

What I would like to see is a website talking about Muslim scientists or inventors today, perhaps even called www.MuslimScientistsToday.com (warning do not click on the link it does not exist). While it is important to point out the historical perspective and the heritage of the world, the Muslim world needs inspiration today to achieve tomorrow. The young can be inspired by history but even more so by the present. Perhaps this will strike a chord with someone out there and start this ball rolling.

O God let this idea bear fruit if it attracts Your pleasure.

del.icio.us Tags: 1001 inventions,Muslim heritage,Muslim inventors,Muslim inventors today,MuslimScientistsToday.com,inspiring Muslims,Muslims locked in the past,Muslims reliving ancient glories,Muslims recognised but fossilised

Dawah Resources - Yusuf Estes

2009-01-02T04:34:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah : In the name of God, with gratitude and praise for Him

I have been to one Yusuf Estes lecture, here in Jeddah. This was the first time I have attended or heard his lecture though I had heard his name mentioned by others. He was certainly an entertaining lecturer and the audience warmed to him quite well. During his lecture he reeled out a large number of websites. I had jotted them down and thought I would spend some time just reviewing the ones mentioned. They are listed below:

www.shareislam.com :

The mother website. The website reveals a domain dominance strategy in which a large number of domains have been registered with catchy dawah titles, these are listed here.

www.searchforislam.com :

A search page that harnesses Google to search what looks like this group of websites.

www.watchforislam.com :

Couldn't access the website

www.islamswomen.com :

One of the better resources, an interesting article on the niqaab.

www.islamnewsroom.com

The website keeps you abreast of Yusuf Estes dawah effort and journeys.

yusuf@shareislam.com

I presume you can email Yusuf Estes on this email.

www.yusufestes.com

This record his personal story of conversion to Islam.

w ww.watchislam.com :

Offers various channels such as Peacetv, Hudatv, IslamChannelUK, ShareIslamTV. wasn't working very well when I tried it.

http://www.ipodislam.com/

MP3 audio feeds (podcast feeds) feeds from Yusuf Estes and other callers to Islam. There seem to be 150 podcasts since 2007.

www.bridgetofaith.com :

Not too sure what this site is attempting to do, though the title seems obvious. It has a typically American exuberant pro-organ transplantation plug.

www.chatislam.com :

This offers a text chat window and various rooms. They are supposed to be moderated but this does not seem to be the case around the clock. This sounds like a good idea but needs improvement.

http://www.allahsquran.com

Some long articles on the authenticity of the Quran. The articles seem to be transcripts of lectures or a re written in a more informal style. You can listen to the Quran as well. The site, which seems to be a section of the mother site www.shareislam.com, follows a fixed proforma in its presentation.

http://www.scienceislam.com/index.php

The site is sparse and not that useful. It seems to have been written hastily but provides some basic scientific arguments. It is written for the lay public.

Overall Yusuf Estes has clearly brought a lot of energy and some of missionary Christian media savvy techniques into the Islamic dawah field. His energy is refreshing and inspiring at the same time. Though the plethora of websites certainly needs pruning and a bit more oversight and structure to enhance their overall usability. With the advent of Google and googling the importance of multiple domain names has probably diminished. The cost of such a large number of domain names is not insignificant and I feel the number of domains should be reduced and quality rather quantity should be the key.

del.icio.us Tags: Yusuf Estes,Yusuf Estes websites,shareislam website,review of Yusuf Estes websites

The perverse maths of Palestine

2008-12-30T12:48:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah : In the name of God, with hope and submission

I came across a well written article in the Guardian (Israel's onslaught on Gaza is a crime that cannot succeed) the following line highlights the perverse maths of Palestine:

"During the last seven years, 14 Israelis have been killed by mostly homemade rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, while more than 5,000 Palestinians were killed by Israel with some of the most advanced US-supplied armaments in the world."

I pray that God extinguishes the flames of war and reins in the dogs of war. The following verse of the Quran comes to mind and deserves reflection:

5:64 And the Jews say, "God's hand is shackled!" It is their own hands that are shackled; and rejected [by God] are they because of this their assertion. Nay, but wide are His hands stretched out: He dispenses [bounty] as He wills. But all that has been bestowed from on high upon thee [O Prophet] by thy Sustainer is bound to make many of them yet more stubborn in their overweening arrogance and in their denial of the truth. And so We have cast enmity and hatred among the followers of the Bible , [to last] until Resurrection Day; every time they light the fires of war, God extinguishes them ; and they labour hard to spread corruption on earth: and God does not -love the spreaders of corruption.

What is a WASP?

2008-12-26T06:11:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah : In the name of God, with gratitude and praise for Him

The Prophet Muhammad (S) made jokes with his Companions, but was careful never to tell lies when doing so and did not make this his natural disposition. In emulation of this Sunnah or practice and hopefully without falling into extremism in this arena I thought I would compile the various moments of mirth I have observed from time to time.

Listening to a programme on the BBC exploring cities that encourage immigration it was looking at one of the most successful cities in the world which happen to be in Canada. One of the experts on the programme illustrated the multi-ethnicity of the city by saying that the percentage of the WASPs was relatively low compared to the USA. I noted with mirth what the acronym stood for: White Anglo Saxon Protestants.

del.icio.us Tags: WASP - White Anglo Saxon Protestants,Canada v USA

Islamic studies in Jeddah

2008-12-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah : In the name of God, with gratitude and praise for Him

There are opportunities to listen to study Islam in Jeddah, but these are not as abundant as in other cities in the country and few well advertised opportunities exist in English. I have tried to list what I am aware of sources and places to learn in English and Arabic primarily. I have briefly touched upon Urdu. Where possible I have tried to clarify the location of places.

English

The Jeddah Dawah Centre runs various basic courses on Islam geared towards beginners or people who have recently entered Islam. Courses are offered in a variety of languages. Contact the centre for further details, but don't be surprised if you need to make a personal visit to speak to someone. Public events are also organised by the JDC and they invite speakers from around the world. An example of one such lecture was by Yusuf Estes in Jeddah.

There is one regularly held English language Islamic lesson in a mosque that sits within the Saudi Airlines compound. The imam of the mosque is known an Imam Maliki. Access to the mosque requires a good knowledge of where it lies and will require you to submit your id at the entrance to the compound which is very large. The lesson involves the translation of the Friday khutbah (sermon) and then lunch is provided. A number of English speaking Muslims from all over Jeddah tend to gather for this weekly event. There are facilities for ladies at the mosque.

There is a radio programme that comes on in the afternoon and offers an easy paced commentary on various Islamic issues. It happens at around early afternoon on the FM dial.

Study circles behind closed doors are held in English, but it is likely that they do not have strictly official permission hence are not publicly advertised and you will need the word of mouth or a contact to find out what is being held where. It would be reasonable to conclude it to say the authorities are very well aware of most of these activities and tolerate them as long as they do not cross any political lines and do not attract Saudi nationals.

Islamic books in English are stocked in Jareer and Tihama bookstores. Different stores have a different collection of books some better than others. In general the overall number of books available in Jeddah compared to the West is much lower, a fairly strict censorship limits the number of books available here. Though there is plenty of reading material to keep someone busy for quite a long time. Usually most books published by Dar us-Salaam publishers are available. One other place where you can get books is Aziziyyah, they also have videos and CDs of various lectures. Books in Urdu may be found here as well.

Other languages such as Urdu are catered for in mosques which lie in the South of Jeddah, they offer translations of khutbahs from Arabic into Urdu after Friday prayers. I have managed to locate on such mosque in the Bani Malik area, I think it's name was Masjid Bilal.

Arabic

If you know Arabic then there is a much greater access to Islamic study opportunities. Lectures are usually held in major mosques on a regular weekly basis. This is more likely to be the case in lower socio-economic southern parts of Jeddah than the more plush northern suburbs but opportunities do occur everywhere.

All large mosque will have a tahfeez (Quran memorisation) programme for students, it usually runs from Asr to Maghrib and children and adults are welcome. Usually they require enrollment at the beginning of the semester or year. Some mosques have got a very good reputation, one such is Masjid Shuaybee.

Facilities for ladies are better, and morning schools to learn various Islamic sciences are available. These are run by charitable colleges which run fee paying courses and have a regime of tests to work out whether or not you are promoted to the next level. They tend to have a beginners level but do not offer to teach any Arabic. If you have not learned Arabic you may attend the lessons to try and soak up the atmosphere and the language using an immersion technique. This is known as مستمع mustami' or listener status.

One such ladies institute is المعهد العلمي العالي لإعداد معلمات القرآن والسنة The Higher Knowledge Preparatory College lady teachers of the Quran and Sunnah. It holds a charitable endowment status for the late mother of Ameer Namir ibn Abdul Aziz. It lies on Aisha Umm Al Muminin Street, this is off Hamad Al Jaser Street which in turn is off Sari Street. The co-co-ordinates are Latitude: N 21.576652° and Longitude: E 39.156498°. If you enter via Hamad Al Jaser Street, it is a right turn when coming from Sari Street. On the corner is a mosque called Ikhlaas. The college is on the right and not very well marked. Opening times are from early morning and classes start at 8 am till 12.30 pm. Lessons cost 3000 SAR per year. You can register for distance lessons as well at their website. Another link is here. Lessons taught here cover all the basic Islamic sciences: tafseer, hadith, usool al-fiqh and others. The entry requirement is payment of the fee, permission from the ladies guardian (father or husband), valid legal status in the country (i.e. iqamah) and secondary certificate of education.

Similar institutes exist for men but usually have times that are not convenient to working men. I have not come across any night classes that are conveniently located within main town Jeddah. I have heard of a men's institute on the way to Makkah.

The radio offers a very useful station called إذاعة القرآن Radio Quran, here is a link on the top right for this station. Here is another link. The station has an almost daily Q&A Fatwa programme via telephone. People phone from all around the country and questions are not censored but are probably pre-filtered and are live. There are also discussion programmes on current affairs and commentaries on classical books and programmes charting the current modern day history of Muslims is various parts of the world. It can be caught easily on FM and AM.

Books in Arabic are widely available in Jareer and Tihama, the more specialist books will have to be hunted for at more specialist outlets. There is a lecture circuit by the more famous scholars in the kingdom and they attend various mosques, but tend not to frequent Jeddah as much as they do other cities. These are advertised on notice boards in most mosques. Some of them have websites and transmit the lectures live and store them for later retrieval on their websites. Following are some commonly found websites on posters:

www.thnyanmsq.com: website of the Thanyaan Masjid in Jeddah, Google map location of mosque.
www.jkb-1.com (for the Khadijah Baghlaf Mosque in Jeddah near here)
www.almoslim.net carries live lectures from around the country
www.liveislam.net carries live lectures from many cities.

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Minimising cost in dawah - Asterix opensource IVR

2008-12-26T00:16:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah : In the name of God, with gratitude and praise for Him

Many dawah organisations work on very tight budgets, perhaps even the money that comes from cookie and cake sales! Listening to the BBC I came across this very useful piece of opensource software for organisations who would like to set up an IVR (interactive Voice Response) system on the cheap. The software is being used by humanitarian organisations in Southern Africa. It is called Asterix and is available here.

del.icio.us Tags: Asterix opensource IVR,cheap interactive voice response software,minimising costs in dawah

What makes a good curriculum?

2008-12-26T00:08:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah : In the name of God, with gratitude and praise for Him

With the increasing use of the internet in education, what concerns me a lot are teachers who ask students to 'research' a particular topic on the internet. Initially it sounds quite impressive. But a few moments of thought and a few days of experience reveal two fundamental problems: time & security - this post dwells on the former.

Time

I suspect, and this is a non-teacher's perspective, that many teachers set homework that is not well thought out and occupies a huge amount of time with minimal benefit for the child. A typical example is find out about 'anaemia' or xyz subject on the internet. Typically children will go to Wikipedia or Google and try and understand what is written, failing that they will just copy and paste in greater or lesser detail.

I was listening to an educator from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) talking about what makes a good curriculum and she mentioned some very interesting points: She talked about the difference between 'information versus knowledge' and 'access versus understanding'. With the internet people have had a unprecedented access to information and an even greater access to dis- and mis- information. A good curriculum selects and sorts and allows students to rank and determine sources.

Teachers need to address this ability to sort and sift the information. Asking children to go and research on the internet without any further guidance to what is understood to be a quality resource is a very good way of wasting children's time. If you have helped your children with their homework you will soon find that trying to find quality resources with correct information is actually very difficult. Soon the minutes build up into hours trying to find information which in older days would have been quickly resolved by dipping into a good sized textbook.

Students need more guidance and limited access to the internet not more. Perhaps a publicly updatable website run by teachers could be started that lists the most valuable links to various resources for children. It should be human and not computer authored, and the editing of the site should be strict and avoid unnecessary repetition and links of minimal use. In essence we need a return of the school library. Ideally an Islamic version of this world library should also be formed that is compatible with the values of Islam. I have not come across any such ideas or projects on the web and would welcome any feedback on the matter.

del.icio.us Tags: good curriculum,internet research a time waster,school library,teacherpedia,information v knowledge,access v understanding,Islamic library

Learning Arabic in Jeddah

2008-12-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

Learning the host language of a land you have come to helps your integration into that community. Learning Arabic can be quite a challenge to people coming to the Middle East, especially the Gulf. There are various challenges and this article describes my Jeddah experience with this:

Institutes

The number of institutes in Jeddah teaching Arabic virtually border on zero. The one institute that exists is the Berlitz school of language which has various branches. One such branch exists on Rawdah Street on the corniche side of Madeenah road. The last time I enquired the cost of one-to-one tuition per month which was 60 hours of tuition was 10,000 SAR (Saudi Riyals). Unless you are earning a significant salary this is beyond the reach of most people who work in Saudi Arabia, including many western expats. The costs can be reduced by organising a group of learners though they had a minimum number of students.

Another source of language learning centres is the Saudi Telecoms Yellow Pages and search for language schools. These are mainly schools teaching English, but they will have a list of tutors who can probably quite easily teach the reverse.

Another option is the Jeddah Dawah Center. I have been told that they offer free lessons, which are geared to non-Arabic speaking converts to Islam. The group is an officially sanctioned group and posters advertising dawah lectures all over Jeddah in many languages can be seen on a regular basis. Sadly, as with many institutions in Saudi Arabia, telephone contact or useful information on the website advertising these services is poor. I have tried to contact them at various times and never managed to get through. There is nothing quite like a personal visit to the office to get an idea as to what is going on. A map and contact telephone numbers are available here.

The King Abdulaziz University used to offer evening courses for non-Arabic speakers though their website is not forthcoming with details. It is not conveniently situated but is an option as the lessons are held in the evening. A ladies college called Effat college may offer a lead but the website does not advertise any Arabic lessons. Another college called Dar Al-Hikmah lists an Arabic course, though this may be taught in Arabic and be geared towards native Arabic speakers.

[2009-03-06 Update]
The Islamic Education Foundation is based in Jeddah and offer courses for ladies in Arabic. Their contact numbers are: (02) 6917515 / 6917533 or Mobile 0506670617. They are situated in the streets behind Sultan Mall. If you are coming down Sultan Road going south, turn right at the ship roundabout, take the service lane and turn right after the Juton Paints and then take the second right. The building is at the end on the right. The director of the centre is Dr sanaa Abid. They also offer Islamic courses.

Individual Tutors

The other option is to hire a tutor of Arabic who will come to your home. These tutors usually self advertise with posters all over the place. The posters are usually stuck to whatever is possible in and around masjids. They are written in Arabic (مدرس اللغة) and will have a telephone number. The tutors are mainly non-Saudi Arabs, usually from Egypt or Sudan, who advertise their services. Their primary market is Arab children studying in school. This may sound puzzling after all 'why would Arab's need tuition in Arabic?' - the story is rather long but in short they do as a result of the lack of formal Arabic spoken on the street and the generally poor standards in many government schools when it comes to teaching Arabic.

The other problem with the tutor is they may not be willing to teach females unless they themselves are female. Here it would be a good idea to tap into the pavement network and ask friends or even the person advertising at the masjid. The cost of 60 hours of tuition is significantly less and is around the 1600 SAR mark. This is the option that we have found to be most useful for us. Friends of ours have used the tutor, who speaks virtually no English, to help teach their children. The arrangement has been on the whole successful. The added advantage is that the tutors usually are well versed in the Quran and help children read and memorise the Quran.

Tutors are widely available in the two holy cities of Makkah and Madeenah, but you will need to find a contact who can lead you to them. This is not that difficult and you can start by tracing back from the adverts around masjids or ask for any acquaintances or friends of friends studying at the various Islamic universities or colleges.

The other option to locate tutors who have experience teaching English speakers is to contact the various International Schools. It is a Ministry of Education requirement that Arabic be taught in all schools for foreign nationals, known as International Schools. The standard of Arabic taught is not very high and the schools have provided teachers and lessons to fulfill the Ministry's requirements rather than taking a genuine interest in teaching Arabic as a foreign language. Schools that are likely to have an English speaking Arabic tutor are: Jeddah Prep, Manarat, American International School of Jeddah, Thamer School and the British International School. You will probably need to visit the school inorder to meet the Arabic teacher but you can always try phoning and try. These teachers offer evening tuition to anyone. Their rates tend to be quite expensive at 80-100 SAR / hour, but they are open to negotiation depending on the consistency of the lessons. The Arabic tutor at Manarat, a Syrian male teacher, has gained a popular following with parents and is widely regarded as a good teacher especially with children. The link above is to the girls section, you should be able to get the boys section from there.

Feasibility

Finally there are the well known options of learning via the internet which I have not covered here. From the experience of expats in general here, even those who are quite well motivated usually for Islamic reasons they tend to find it very difficult to learn Arabic. The work life routine in Saudi Arabia is quite energy sapping and usually, as probably in most places in the world, learning an extra language outside work and family hours will prove to be an insurmountable task for many. If you have found a job in the Gulf, take a crash course or at least 6 months in a country like Egypt or Syria and learn Arabic before you come, you will be able to gain much more by doing this.

del.icio.us Tags: Learning Arabic in Jeddah,Arabic tutors Jeddah,Arabic work life balance

Decline of the Islamic calendar

2008-12-19T08:35:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

The two Islamic Eids usually witness a great deal of controversy over their precise dates. Proponents mainly in the West argue for the use astronomical calculations to determine the probability of visibility of the new crescent, which marks the beginning of the new month. The method chosen by the Saudi authorities is more simple and relies on the presence of witnesses whose testimony is accepted on oath by a judge. The process by which the Saudi authorities decide which sightings to accept or not is obscure. The lack of public scrutiny of this process only fuels the general suspicion that the process is subject to other factors.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of this debate Saudi Arabia stands as perhaps the only nation to maintain the Islamic lunar or Hijri calendar as an official calendar upon which dates for daily activities, official and unofficial are based. The local Saudi people are in general highly familiar with this calendar calendar and refer to it frequently and plan their lives around it. Employers pay their staff in accordance to it, utility companies issue bills by it and contracts are drawn and dated by it.

The official Saudi calendar is in accordance to the official Um al-Qura Calendar. This can be viewed via this link at its official home where it is maintained by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and technology website. The site also provides the official prayer times for Saudi Arabia, these are printed as tables towards the end of the Islamic year and can be found at most good bookstores such as Jarir and Tihama.

This calendar has it roots in the early history of Islam. It was started by the second caliph of Islam Umar, may God be pleased with him. The decision to be begin it from the year in which the Prophet Muhammad (S) migrated or made Hijrah from Makkah to Madeenah is important. The hijrah marked a significant moment in the early history of Islam and the birth of the first Islamic state. The calendar marks this momentous occasion and underlines the political and personal nature of Islam. The word Hijri literally means related to the hijrah or migration [of the Prophet(S)].

Though these are the roots of the calendar in general people in Saudi Arabia no longer overtly regard it as an Islamic calendar. In fact in common everyday discourse it is rarely referred to by its Hijri name. Instead it is referred to as the عربي 'arabee or 'Arabic' calendar. Similarly the terms used for the Gregorian solar calendar as ميلادي milady (lit. related to the birth [of Christ]) or sometimes as فرنجي faranjee. The latter term is a reference to the Franks of the crusades, but this connection is buried somewhere in the annals of history and not in the current consciousness.

It is ironic while there is much passion about the two dates in the year when the Eids fall there is little said especially of practical import about the other 352 days of the Hijri calendar. It will not escape the attention of any interested party that if there was ever to be a time when the Hijri calendar became important again it would need to be standardised across the Islamic world, and the natural point of centralisation would be Saudi Arabia.

Sadly, even in Saudi Arabia the winds of change are beginning to blow. Newer companies such as Mobily (a mobile phone company) have switched to using the Gregorian calendar for billing. The Hijri calendar lies slowly melting into the sands of the Arabian desert in danger of turning into an archaeological item of curiosity to be resurrected for two dates every year.

del.icio.us Tags: Hijri calendar,Islamic calendar,faranji,miladee,Saudi Arabic calendar system,Um Al-Quran calendar,Umar and Islamic calendar

The future of Muslims in the West

2008-12-14T13:17:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Where the future of Muslims in the West lies is a difficult question to answer but an important one to consider and plan for. I was rustling through my notes when I came across this conversation. I had made a note of it while sitting in a hospital waiting room a few seats away from an elderly white couple in the United Kingdom.

Man: "I went to see a young doctor, he was more like a plumber."

Woman: "Yes ... but they are the best."
Man: 'Yes they know all the latest technical things. He said first we'll do your blood test and then he took my blood pressure. The other (older) doctors never did that!"

... the conversation meanders on ...

Man: "I would never take pain killers it's like having a noisy radio and you cut the speaker. The radio is still noisy. Pain killers always mask the pain they don't let the real problem come out."

... they switch topics to frozen shoulders ...

Man: "I was offered an injection or physiotherapy. Cortisone is only a drug, b... drugs! The doctor gave me Ibuprofen, and some patch to give morphine. The I went to see an acupuncturist who said you have a frozen shoulder didn't your doctor know? 'No' I said. Then I went to see another doctor and he said stop all these tablets, and I did and I found I did not need them!

Woman: They just do it (give drugs) because they don't know what to do. If you have a bad leg and take pain killers when you wake up you still have the bad leg!

... the topic switches from medicine to foreign cleaners ...

Woman: "They make the job worse. 70% are foreigners. One carer came in to clean the house and she left her muddy boot marks on the stairs. They don't really want to do the job, they just want to collect the money. They take 5 minutes to take their jacket off!"

The above conversation especially its later content is not unusual. The under current of racism is generally quite strong, usually a result of ignorance and lack of interaction with non-white peoples. Sadly the current economic downturn which is predicted to potentially last for a further 15 years may exacerbate and inflame this inclination in the majority of citizens in Europe. This is the prediction of various economists recently discussing the extent of the global recession on the BBC. The example of Germany and the nationalism of Yugoslavia are but recent events.

Long term planning is not a forte of Muslims in general but it is worth remembering the lessons of history and plan accordingly. Muslims are easily portrayed as outsiders in the West, this coupled to the fact that the majority do not share the same racial background as the indigenous population will make it easy to single this group out. Muslim leaders should anticipate these effects and work together to slow down the momentum of such feelings.

Another important factor that has been on the slow burner is the demographic one. The birth rate of many European nations hovers around or just under 2, not enough to keep the indigenous population steady in many states. The birth rate of Muslim minorities in these nations is probably much higher and further inflated by immigration through the institution of marriage. As this discrepancy becomes more pronounced it will be more readily exploited by forces that find the presence of such a sizeable minority of Muslims in the West an anathema. When this minority becomes significant is a very significant question to which Allah only knows the answer, but doing a very rough back of the envelope calculation I would expect the minority population in the UK to reach a critical mass (of 10% of the total population) in the next 20 - 40 years.

As the pressure on Muslim minorities grows I hope that Muslim nations will offer a greater degree of support and interest in the affairs of Muslim minorities. I admit that the likelihood of this happening currently is remote. But from my stay in a Muslim majority country it would be fair to say that the man on the street does have concern for his or her counterpart in non-Muslim countries. This should not be underestimated or overlooked. Converting this interest into concrete action and support while difficult and an uphill struggle is something that minds should concentrate on.

Western governments have a vested interest in isolating Muslims in the West. This is done through the promotion of a 'Western brand of Islam', sadly for whatever reason they have found willing pawns in this great political game. Leaders in the Muslim community should be aware of this greater game and sacrifice their shorter political goals for the greater good of the whole community.

The Hajj Trade Fair?

2008-12-12T07:55:00.000-08:00

Bismillah alhamdulillah.

Driving back on the long road from the shores of the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea I looked in amazement at the snaking convoy of cars that was stretching over 800 km. Cars laden with overhead luggage and coaches were passing one a second all the way from the outskirts of Riyadh to Makkah. Assuming an average of 5 passengers per vehicle in a period of 12 hours a million pilgrims had driven themselves away from Makkah. The press figures state that the total number of pilgrims this year were 3 million - a staggering figure. Somewhere between 30-60% of this 3 million are pilgrims from outside the Gulf area. This amazing gathering provides an opportunity for furthering links between the various parts of the Muslim world. One such link is trade.

Hajj and trade have been linked ever since pre-Islamic times. The congregation of so many people from such all over the world has provided local traders an excellent opportunity to making profits. Some people say the profits made during the Hajj season generate revenues that will be enough for a whole year. The Quran itself provides sanction to the linking of business and Hajj in the following verse:

2:198 It is no sin for you that ye seek the bounty of your Lord (by trading). But, when ye press on in the multitude from Arafat, remember Allah by the sacred monument. Remember Him as He hath guided you, although before ye were of those astray.

Currently pilgrims have been reduced to consumers rather than traders and offer little of substance to other pilgrims. There are no forums for them to exchange information and contacts with fellow pilgrims. Though I have no data concerning the amount intra-Muslim world trade I would not be surprised in the least to find it is extremely low. A simple trip to most North African countries will show very few South Asians, though potentially there are many bilateral trading opportunities that exist.

Part of the reason is the lack of a forum in which contacts can be easily exchanged. The annual Hajj provides such an opportunity. The Hajj currently run provides a logistical and immigration challenge to the Saudi authorities, consequently most of their efforts have been geared towards meeting these challenges. Little thought has been put into taking advantage of this opportunity in other ways.

Given the current lack of intra-Muslim world trade it would seem to be a goal worth working to and promoting. The establishment of a large trade fair straight after the days of Hajj is an idea that should be explored, a 'Hajj Trade Fair'. It should allow pilgrims free access and business from all over the Muslim world to display their wares and services. Special rates should be given to pilgrim businessmen so that they can trade their wares or at the very least give them a degree of exposure that they could not otherwise afford. This would allow for the greater exposure of Muslim businesses to a Muslim population, potentially generate revenues for the Saudi authorities and promote intra-Muslim world trade which can only be an advantage for the Muslim world and promote self-reliance.

The trade fair is a non-threatening positive and constructive step. Putting it after the Hajj would be in keeping with the spirit of not distracting pilgrims from their primary purpose of coming to the Hajj. Pilgrims represent a heterogeneous group. From captains of trade and industry, foreign emissaries, decision makers, business persons, entrepreneurs, thinkers to the more common Bakr and Zaid. The Saudi authorities can also use this opportunity to offer free business development advice to the various pilgrims who are traders, this itself would generate tremendous goodwill which can only be for the greater good. I pray that this spark of an idea is given a breath of life and opportunity to flourish.

Hijrah - yes or no?

2008-12-06T13:48:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

A verse in the Quran talks about emigrating or hijrah. Hijrah or emigration from non-Muslim lands to Muslim lands. This had been a topic of much conversation in Muslim circles around a decade ago especially in the West. The enthusiasm and zeal for this idea seems to have died down over the last few years as the reality of emigrating and its hardships has set in bolstered by counter arguments over the overall benefit of hijrah.

Hijrah is not as easy, palatable and in some circles not strictly relevant or a priority in the current climate. At times like this when the pendulum of discussion swings between 'yes' and 'no' the casual observer is lost in the complex mesh of argument and counter-argument. Is hijrah or emigrating an obligation, an obligation that cannot be met hence hence excused, or the opposite as hijrah can lead to worse consequences. The debate naturally occurs at a variety of levels from the scholastic to the common. At times like this contemplation of God's book is a vital source of strength:

وَمَن يُهَاجِرْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ يَجِدْ فِي الأَرْضِ مُرَاغَمًا كَثِيرًا وَسَعَةً وَمَن يَخْرُجْ مِن بَيْتِهِ مُهَاجِرًا إِلَى اللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ يُدْرِكْهُ الْمَوْتُ فَقَدْ وَقَعَ أَجْرُهُ

Whoso migrateth for the cause of Allah will find much refuge (muraaghaman)and abundance (sa'ah) in the earth, and whoso forsaketh his home, a fugitive unto Allah and His messenger, and death overtaketh him, his reward is then incumbent on Allah. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful. (Surah An-Nisaa 4: 100)

The above is Picktall's rendition of this verse in English. The brackets are mine showing the two words that he has translated which should interest the reader. I thought I would dip into the classical commentaries and see what I could glean.

The easier of the two words is the second سعة sa'ah. It literally means breadth or vastness. The commentators of the Quran further explain this vastness as vastness in wealth and general ease of circumstances.

Back to the first word مراغما muraaghaman, this word is more challenging and consequently more replete with meaning. For those with some grammatical background in Arabic it is worth pointing out that though the word resembles the passive participle of the Form IV verb أرغم arghama it is in fact not a passive participle. Instead it is a اسم المكان والزمان or a 'noun of place and time'. These are a class of nouns which describe the place or time an action is performed. Another example of such a word is مسجد masjid. The word مسجد masjid is derived from the word سجد sajada (to prostrate). Hence the word masjid literally means 'a place where prostrations are performed' in other words a mosque or masjid.

Bearing the above grammatical discussion in mind let us proceed to see what the classical commentators say about this word. Imam Qurtubi says: 'There is a dispute in the interpretation of the word muraaghman. Mujahid said that is was a place of displacement. Ibn Abbas said it was a place of escape or a place that is gone to. Ibn zayd said it was a place of hijrah.'

Sayid Tantawi offers a useful summary and further analysis of the etymology of the word: 'All of these commentaries are explanations of the different shades of meaning within this word. The word is the name of a place from which raaghama is done. The word raaghama is derived from the word raghaam or 'dust'. The link between these two words and the meaning of this word can be found in the Arabic expression raghama anf (may one's nose be rubbed in dirt i.e. despite his humiliation). To raaghama someone is to boycott and oppose them. All these further explain the meaning of the word muraaghaman. As for the word itself it is the place where muraagahaman is done i.e. a place where each opponent humiliates his opponent by prevailing over him and preventing his opponent reaching his objective.

In the context of the early Muslims, when the Muslims where making hijrah from Makkah ruled by the hostile and at that time non-Muslim Quraysh tribe, it is as if the Quraysh who had been humiliating the Muslims by forcing them stay in Makkah had the tables turned on them. By emigrating from Makkah the Muslims had managed to raaghama the Quraysh by achieving the ability to resist, this very ability to resist is their muraaghaman. Taking this into consideration the verse could then be more fully rendered as follows:

Whoever emigrates leaving his country of abode to raise the word of God and to honour His religion will find on the earth many places where he will be safe from the plotting and oppression of his enemies, there he will find good, bounty and expanse in his provision which further enhance the sense of humiliation of the enemies he has left due to his profound dislike of their ugly company and their bad behaviour.'

Fakhr Al-Din Ar-Razi adds: Once a person leaves his country and goes to a foreign country, remains steadfast in his decision to stay there the news will eventually reach his people and cause them to be ashamed of their bad behaviour to him. This is a further source of humiliation for them. Putting this all together it is as if God is saying: 'O man, you dislike emigrating from your country because you fear the difficulty, the move and the misfortune but do not fear God will provide for you from His copious bounty and award you a high rank in the place that you emigrate to which will become a source of humiliation to your enemies and will be a source of increase in your provisions.' Another point to observe that Allah has mentioned increase in provision alongside the humiliation of the enemies since the happiness of a man who has emigrated from his family and land due to their oppression of him with his wealth will become a source of further humiliation for them.'

Of course all the above is predicated by one condition which is present within the ayah: ومن يهاجر في سبيل الله whoever emigrates for the sake of Allah. If you have reached this far in this article you may be wondering what to do. This article does not attempt to answer the fiqh of whether hijrah in the current world situation is an obligation or not. Sometimes the complexity of such answers can be avoided by changing the question to 'Is hijrah haraam?' - of course the answer is clearly negative. So we are left with deciding whether it is obligatory or recommended. In either case especially the latter contemplating over this verse will I hope help in answering the question: 'Is it worth it?'

Lady Evelyn Cobbold - Muslim convert

2008-12-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

I found this interesting story in the Saudi Gazette about an artistocratic Scottish lady convert in the late 1800's. She died as a Muslim at the age of 95 in 1963 having performed Hajj at the age of 65. She wrote a book called 'Pilgrimage to Makkah' which has been republished with the more attractive title "From Mayfair to Makkah" . She was buried at her Scottish Highlands estate in Wester Ross with an inscription of the Quran on her gravestone. The following quote describes her process of conversion:

Evelyn wrote in “Pilgrimage to Makkah” that she was often asked when and why she became a Muslim, but “I do not know the precise moment when the truth of Islam dawned on me. It seems that I have always been a Muslim.”

A perfect wife

2008-12-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

A perfect wife
A life without strife

Height compatible though a bit less
Allowing me to impress

Not fat, not thin
Just trim

Beautiful without compare
A harness for my wandering stare

Faith like the Everest
Shrouded by hijabs black and thickest

A wit and education
Coupled with frequent prayers and supplication

A mother of many
A defender of my house and every penny

As for me
I am as you see

Judge me not by my height
And in weight I am not very light

Homework my bane
Washing, hoovering all a pain

Kids are bawling
Mother, mother they are calling

Content to ask for all
Aah, as for me, what I offer is very small

Prayers and supplication wanting
Manners and etiquette awaiting

Bent ribs are my despair
Bent beyond repair

To the distance I turn my gaze
Only to find a misty haze

To the face on my wall I stare
As I realise the cause of my despair.

Found this on a withered old paper. The spidery writing on the page reminded me of a poem I had written in 1994 called `Perfect Wife`, inspired by conversations of those in search of her.

Call to prayer

2008-12-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Down I go in full flow, not fast not slow
Through the doors, into the outdoors
The call has come, for everyone

Past the puddle, I trundle
Date tree on my left, of dates bereft
Concrete street, under my feet

Passed Snow White, the clothes so bright
Cars hooting, as they pass driving
Bells ringing, cyclists whizzing

Right at the bins, full of tins
Guarded by cats, in this city of flats
Passed the meat shop, sad chickens awaiting the chop

Left at the chemist, passed the footballers I twist.
The green gates appear, as the world beings to disappear
The second call, reaches me at the wall

Through the simple door, onto the masjid floor
Hands rising, behind me the world is falling
I join my line, at the behest of the Sublime.

Inspired by my daily journey from my flat to the local masjid or mosque in a suburb of Cairo (2004)

Arabic dreams

2008-12-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Glittering world
Promises you hurl
False and broken
But covered and well spun

Like insects in dizzying pace
We rush to your embrace
To the source of your light
Its fiery embers lost to our sight

To a barren desert I run
To citadels of chaos and mayhem
Wonder you why?
What attracts my eye?

A drop of belief
Propels me to a reef
In this stormy ocean
Questing the eternal potion

There I know
Lies the elixir so
Covered in runes and reams
Of Arabic dreams

Keys to the hearts delight
If only you knew then you might
Join me in my journey
To The Subtle and His company

A poetic response to 'Why learn Arabic?' (2004)

Can you hear the sound?

2008-12-06T04:00:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

Metal birds soaring in the sky,
Featureless and droning on high,
As an afterthought they discharge their burden,
To the earth with death laden,

Can you hear the sound as they fall?
Past the buildings rising tall,
Onto brother and sister they hurtle,
Gifts wrapped in shiny metal,

Can you hear the sound as they fall?
Was it a scream or a cry in a blackened mall?
Their blood paints road and rail,
As bodies turn ghastly pale,

Can you hear the sound as they fall?
Drowned out by jaguars screaming their call,
Collateral is the name,
Warriors charging or children chanting, it`s all the same,

Can you hear the sound as they fall?
Perhaps a few words hidden and small,
In a maze of media, reports scatter,
Ten or a hundred does it matter?

Can you hear the sound as they fall?
Silence! They command in every hall,
Tears and cries are solely theirs,
Multiplied into a world of nightmares,

Can you hear the sound as they fall?
Is there only silence as we reach the wall?
Voices drowned and downed,
Among scattered ashes on the ground.

Can you hear the sound as they fall?
Is there any that will call?
Or lift a hand,
And make a stand?

On behalf of the silent ones (2005).

Poem - Clocks on Walls

2008-12-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Clocks tick quietly on walls,
Waiting as His decree falls,
Eyes shed tears,
Hearts beat between hopes and fears.

Minds running through a maze,
Seeking light through the haze,
Reflections we begin to see,
As we learn what is empathy.

To Our Lord Most High and Merciful,
Supplications rise hopeful,
For our blessed Prophet we first pray,
Now understanding comes like the first break of day.

In every face of life,
He stands a guide for a world with tests rife,
Was it not his son Ibrahim?
A source of tears on a face so pristine.

O Allah on your blessed Prophet`s face,
We ask Your blessings and peace to grace,
Yesterday patience was knowledge,
Today in the practical world for it we forage.

To our Lord, Most High,
We turn, never questioning `Why?`
Gratitude we learn through His design,
Through it the fortuitous see the divine.

To beautiful hearts praying to the Knower of the Unseen,
May the angels bless your efforts with their aameen,
From destiny to destiny we flee,
Our hearts tipped with hope of our Lord`s Mercy.

Inspired by by the struggle of a small one (2005).

Living and studying in Egypt

2008-11-30T13:08:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

This is a rather long post, it is an archive version of some old Egypt posts that some may still find useful. They are dated 2004/5 so some changes are to be expected. I never got a chance to write about health, visas and attitudes.

A brief word on health: most pharmacists are doctors and the first point of call for people in Egypt. Sadly polypharmacy comes easily to doctors in Egypt. Avoid the government hospitals for any major problems (operations etc.) my experience was very poor. Two hospitals that I had a good and very good experience with respectively were with the American Hospital and Cleopatra. Note you need to have place a hefty deposit up-front usually around 10-20 thousand Egyptian pounds on admission. They do accept credit/debit cards.

An even briefer word on visas, renewal of visas is possible at the Home Ministry or known as the Mugammah, it is somewhere in the city centre, near the American University of Cairo and a stones throw from the British Airways office. There is a nice bookstore in the American University of Cairo and is worthwhile visiting at least once for dictionaries and modern Arabic literature.

A final addendum on attitude. Everyone seems to have a different experience in Egypt, but foreigners, once recognised as so, are usually targeted as fountains of money and exploitation is the general rule of thumb. The attitude problem is unfortunately accentuated when the foreigners are black, sadly reflecting quite a racist under current amongst the general public. Personally I came away with a very positive impression of Egypt and its people but on talking to many other fellow travellers found this was not the majority experience.

The following sections had been covered and have been included in this post further down

Taxi!
Soaring temperatures in the middle of July
Expenses in Egypt (Part 1) Money
Expenses in Egypt (Part 2) Study
Expenses in Egypt (Part 3) Types of Accommodation
Expenses in Egypt (Part 4) Infrastructure
Expenses in Egypt (Part 5) Rental and Equipment Prices
Expenses in Egypt (Part 6) Bawwabs and Fix-it men
Expenses in Egypt (Part 7) Safety Culture
Expenses in Egypt (Part 8) Transport & Communication
Expenses in Egypt (Part 9) Daily Living Expenses

Taxi!

Bismillah: About ten years ago you could switch the television on early in the afternoon to be greeted by a plethora of programs forgotten in time. They had the classic look clothes with glaring colours and haircuts that told you had arrived back to the swinging 60's. The thing about Cairo that reminds me of those programs are the taxis, they seem to have frozen in time, the gleaming black paint graced by the odd dent or two. Shaped in the classic box format and round lights with roof racks on top they skip around Cairo beeping from time to time at prospective customers. An odd exception to this is the classic Renault 12 which you might find in a junk yard or two in England, its sleek sloping bonnet and short boot stand out amongst the crowd of taxis that hoot their way around.
Flagging one of these down is probably the easiest part of the entire journey. I usually try and look as Egyptian as possible and having rehearsed the slang for the place I need to go to lean into the passenger side and bark in a short and hopefully Egyptian manner at the driver. Usually I get a quizzical look and then a short nod and I get into the back.Contrary too all the advice I had been given I do not ask how much, having already asked the 'people that know'. A true case of knowledge is power. The journeys are usually quite quick and if you can convince the driver to give you the handle for the window without letting on you are not Egyptian you can even joy the short rides with the cool breeze playing against your face as you watch Cairo slowly pass by. As the taxi slows down my throat begins to constrict and I can feel the tension in my nerves as the final and most difficult part of the journey has yet to pass.

It's probably like giving birth, the passenger wants to get out but the process of disengaging oneself from the driver on amicable terms is difficult and sometimes painful as I have found out. We had all got into the car and gone the usual 3 pounds worth distance. As instructed I made sure we were all out of the car and then carefully gave the exact amount of three Egyptian pounds to the driver, change is something that taxi drivers conveniently forget. The floppy old notes passed from my hand to the muscular and hairy arms of the thick moustached driver, a classic stereotype. He promptly handed the money back and started to complain. The first act of this brief drama had begun.

He complained that we had filled his car and that I should pay him more. I took the notes back but kept my hand in the car making sure my feet were clear of the tyres just in case the driver felt the need to leave a firm impression on them. He continued to shout and demand more while I pointed out to him that the extra passengers would not have cost him more in fuel costs. I think the logic of my argument seems to have passed him by as he smacked my hand making sure the notes dropped onto his car seat and spat one of those truly theatrical spits where there is more noise that saliva. Turning his head away he drove off, had the car been newer I might have heard the squeaking of tyres as the car was driven in anger. Thankfully the old Lada chugged, rattled and then trundled away. As the taxi wound its way into the distance down the dusty road I wondered how many taxis I would have to catch before I met him again.

Soaring temperatures in the middle of July

Bismillah: Our arrival June had been met with cool breezes that blew through the wide streets and channels formed by the monstrous tower blocks that make up Nasr City a North Eastern district of Cairo. Unlike other Cairenes we kept all our windows open enjoying the cool breeze as it gently blew through the flat. The last few days have begun to reveal the reason why the Cairenes keep their windows firmly shut, as the temeprature has crept into the lower 40s, the cool breeze has decided to take its gloves off and has turned itself into a hot blast - the sort of blast you get on a sunny day in London when you open the oven to take the cake out. I am not too sure if I have quite sweated as much as this before but for the last few days the windows have been shutting earlier and the fans are whirring conrinuously and copious amounts of salty Tang and soft drinks are winding their way down everyone's gullets.
 
Yesterday I decided to check my blood pressure to see if all this sweating would reduce the amount of Sodium in my body and thus my blood pressure. To my surprise my systolic had dropped right down to 105. To all the non-medically oriented that is quite low and just five off when we would call a blood pressure 'low' in medical terms. Alhamdulillah adding salt to my glass of Tang seems to have done the trick as the weary lassitude that saps at every muscle has begun to clear.
 
Despite the soaring temperatures I seem to be only one of a very rare bunch who are carrying their pocket sized umbrella and sticking it out in a tiny gesture defiance at the sun every moment I get. If you are turning up this way I would strongly advise you getting one of theose pocket umbrellas - they are a blessing.

Expenses in Egypt (Part 1) Money

Bismillah: I hope to make the next set of Jottings much more practical and will be dealing with the practical expenses of living and studying in Egypt. Its mainly geared at people who are looking to come here on a long term basis. This Jotting covers the Egyptian Currency and the transfer of money. 

The basics on money: Egyptian notes are called `Egyptian Pounds` they also go under the local name Gunay (a corruption of Junay). The symbol for the currency is LE. Values under 1 Egyptian Pound are Qirsh and 100 Qirsh makes 1 Egyptian Pound. Coins are used though not commonly. Commonly used notes for values less than 1 pound are 50 Qirsh and 25 Qirsh, and in your first few days these are commonly mistaken for 50 and 25 pounds. Other minor denominations exists such as 10 Qirsh and 5 Qirsh but are pretty useless as tender when it comes to buying anything. Pharamacists and supermarkets have a bad habit of giving you these little notes of little value. Notes values that otherwise exists are 1,5,10,20,50 and 100 pounds. The exchange rate between Sterling and the Egyptian Pound currently stands at 1 to 11.34, according to economic forecasts it is expected to increase over the next 3-4 years to £1 = LE20. 
Getting money into the country, the safest way to bring money is using Travellers Cheques, but bringing cash is also very safe if you are living in an apartment. I have heard the odd story of money going missing from safe deposit boxes in hotels but an unable to ascertain how common or uncommon this is. As for crime from private appartment blocks this is virtually unheard of. 

It is very easy to open a Sterling (UK pounds) or US Dollar account in any one of the major banks. I just walked into a Barclays Bank presented my passport and my flimsy driving licence and after about half an hour was a given a measly little card with my account number. If you want you can get a cheque book but you don't get an ATM card for foreign currency accounts and there is currently a charge of 4 Sterling Pounds per 3 months for the account. I can deposit Sterling Pounds and withdraw Sterling whenever I need. After withdrawing it I just convert it to Egyptian Pounds at whatever the going rate is. The advantage of doing this is you can get you bank back home to transfer money straight into your account which is much cheaper than using an ATM with your card from back home or using other Money Transferring Agencies such as Western Union.

Expenses in Egypt (Part 2) Study

Bismillah: This set of expenses is potentially the largest chunk of expenses, especially if you opt for private tuition and add in the cost of children`s studies. 

Arabic study rates are set US dollars, testament to the unstable exchange rate. Prices for a personal tutor range from $3.50 / hour at the upper end to whatever you can manage to negotiate with the various centres or teachers on a private basis. For a joint class of two people with their own tutor the classes cost $2.00 / hour per person or $4.00 per hour in total. 

Group classes are a much cheaper alternative, the more expensive of the centres are currently charging $85 for a total of 75 hours of study, which is equivalent to one level. On average people study three hours a day. The courses are divided into eleven sections each requiring somewhere in between 60 and 75 hours of study to complete. If you happen to complete everything much quicker than expected the hours are credited to the next level and refunds are not made. 

But I have a huge family! Can't they give me a discount? The simple answer is probably yes, as long as you bargain well, though don't be dissapointed if no is the answer. There is no harm in trying. 

There are much cheaper altenatives if you go for a private tutor in the outskirts of Cairo which as a sprawling Metropolis can be a good two hour drive away. I don't really have much experience concerning this alternative, but it does exist. 

Children`s education range from the completely traditional where children write voluminous amounts of Quranic verses and Hadith and are taught to memorise multiple lines of poetry in classical Arabic to the other end of the spectrum where you can find highly Westernised schools teaching in an English medium. The fees equivalently range from LE 3000 / year to LE 7000 / year for the traditional schools. I have not had a chance to investigate the Western schools. Nearly all schools operate a transport policy with a bus which comes to pick up the kids, this will cost from LE 720 / year / child and upwards. Some parents opt for hiring a taxi driver to take their kids and bring them back, this can cost somehwhere between 6-10 LE / day. 

Stationery accounts for around 2-5% of costs of the study. In general pens, notebooks, papers, highlighters are of an equivalent quality to those found in the UK. Staedtler, V5 Pilot pens, branded material, automatic pencils and refills are easily found. My particular favourite is an Office World (a small but well equipped shop) on Abbas Al-Aqqaad Road on the same side as Shayk Al-Balad (a famous restaurant in Madeenat Nasr, Cairo) around the corner from the HSBC bank. 

The various books for each level cost around 30 - 80 LE depending on what level you are studying. They are all photocopies of the originals bound with a plastic comb binding. The photocopying is of an adequate standard but any greyed out pictures or text are very difficult to read. Don't be surprised if the odd text is undecipherable but this is a relative rarity. 

Photocopying is very cheap, on average the cost is 10 Qirsh i.e. 0.10 LE per A4 page. Photocopiers are quite well distributed. You will be surprised at the size ofthe machines and the most unlikely places they seem to turn up in. Just ask and you will probably discover there are 3-4 machines withing 200 metres of wherever you are.

Expenses in Egypt (Part 3) Types of Accommodation

Bismillah, probably the most important question which comes to mind when coming to study abroad after the details of the study programmes is that of accomodation, especially if you are married and have a family to take with you on your inteprid travels to lower reaches of the Meditteranean sea. I found a rather nice quote on houses by Henri Poincare in which he says: 'Science is facts; just as houses are made of stones, so is science made of facts; but a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts is not necessarily science.' A nice play on concepts, one worth bearing in mind when it comes to housing and accomodation. 

Most of the accommodation in Madeenat Nasr (Nasr City) is made up of flats. According to one of the locals the whole of Madeenat Nasr was a sparsely populated area with a few buildings mainly houses. The main road Abbas Al-Aqqaad had few shops and even fewer people. Development over the last 15 years has been fuelled by money pouring in from the Arabian Gulf countries, houses were quickly knocked down and replaced by rapidly rising blocks of flats. The rapid pace of development continues unabated with new developments in Hayya Taasi and Hayya Aashir (Areas 9 and 10). In some areas, such as Hayya Thaamin (Area 8), the water supplies have not kept up with the pace of development and water shortages are a frequent if not daily occurrence. Hayya Thamin happens to be one of the closest to the various Arabic language centres such as Fajr, Qortoba and Makkah. Nearest of all lies the Swissri Area, here the buildings resemble a drab and shabby council estate, though the flat rents reflect the lower standards. 

Villas, or traditional houses with gardens are not found in Madeenat Nasr. There are some developments which have the traditional style of villa with a garden, once that is relatively near (by car) to the language centres is called El-Rehab, references and pictures can be found on the net. Though living there would require the purchase of a car as it lies a good twenty minutes away by car. Though from what I have heard this is a very clean and well maintained development, with manicured lawns and palm tree lined boulevards. 

[I have split this rather long Jotting up - the next one Insha Allah is: Expenses in Egypt (Part 4) Infrastructure] 

* The picture is a shot of what was a tower block on Abbas Al-Aqqaad Road next to the McDonalds that suddenly collapsed following a fire in the lower floors killing 10 people. The BBC report at the time reads: 'The governor of Cairo said the building did not have planning permission for its 11 storeys - it had approval for just four floors .... A demolition order was issued for the block 12 years ago, although it was not clear why it was not carried out. Building collapses in Egypt are not uncommon, with buildings regulations sometimes ignored and unauthorised floors added, making existing structures unsafe.' (Ten dead pulled from Cairo rubble - Tuesday, 27 January, 2004). I guess the take home message is don't live in too high a tower block.

Expenses in Egypt (Part 4) Infrastructure

Bismillah. The population density on the streets of Madeenat Nasr while higher than London or other major metropolitan areas in the West is much lower than any Indian metropolis. You don't get the feeling there are a huge number of people on the streets. The roads similarly are not very densely populated apart from the traditional rush hour times. The primary reason for this is probably the relatively low owner ship of cars, which is stemmed by the artificially inflated prices of cars. 

Play areas for children are few and far in between. The proximity of flats to each other leaves little open space in the local areas. City planners have made some green play areas for children. One called Hadeeqat Dawliyyah (Government Garden), this lies on Abbas Al-Aqaad Road and the other lies Area 8. The only problem with these areas is that they would normally require a short taxi ride to get to. They both have a minimal entrance charge. 

From a shopping point of view, flats near the Genina Mall (a large modern shopping centre) are well supplied with shopping centres, supermarkets. The disadvantage is that this area lies a taxi ride (3 LE one way) to the centres or 30-40 minutes walking distance if you want to savour the Cairo sun. In general the shops are adequately stocked with all the modern amenities of life from washing powder, children's nappies to daily breakfast cereals. I wil be Insha Allah covering the daily living expenses in a more detailed fashion later.

Expenses in Egypt (Part 5) Rental and Equipment Prices

Body: Bismillah. Flats and houses (villas) are available for rent. The rental market becomes saturated in the summer months as many families from Egypt and manyother countries come to Egypt to pass their summer holidays. Egyptian summers are much cooler than those on the Arabian Peninsula. The best time to go hunting for a flat is once the summer holidays have finished which lies somehwhere in the middle of September. 

In general the size of the flats are much bigger than those available in the UK. An average size flat has an area of around 100-120 square metres, anything under 70-80 square meteres is considered something very small. The room sizes are also quite large and even the smallest flats that I have visited the bedroom is capable of taking a double bed, large size wardrobe and still has enough space for 3-4 chairs. 

Infestation with cockroaches and ants are the two main problems with unwanted guests from the insect world. Flies tend to gather if there is no fan but the numbers are few and they are probably transported into the flat on the back of shopping rather than breeding in the local area. As for the cockroaches, according to some dedicated internet sites to the cockroach I first say alhamdulillah (Thank God) that American cockroaches don't live in Egypt because like some of their human counterparts they seemed to be armed to the teeth and have the bad habit of being able to fly. According to this most informative site cockroaches tend to appear in the middle of the night and this can be a bit disconcerting to the midnight snackers and others who tend to roam around the house in the middle of the night. Whether you can do anything about it even if you are scrupulously and meticulously clean is doubtful as cockroaches have a bad habit of living at every single level of any flat and may be feasting in the flat below or above. If you feel rather adventurous you can take a leaf out of our bawwabs method of keeping them at bay and mix up some of the local brand of agricultural pesticides and pour it down every single drain and liberally paint it onto the floor and walls until you are sure everything is dead. I stared haplessly at our bawwab when he arrived with a bucket of ready mixed agricultural pestcide ready to spalsh it everywhere without any gloves. You can imagine how I stood rather perplexed, wondering how on earth I could explain the concept of carcinogens in Egyptian colloquail Arabic! Needless to say with a house full of kids we decided that the ants were probably better company. 

Moving onto the key question: how much does it cost? Rental prices vary from 600 LE to 2000 LE or higher per month, depending on the quality and location of the flat you want. In Area 8 (the place that has the water problems but is a walkable distance to the Arabic centres) rents vary between 1000 - 1600 LE / month. They are about 10-15% lower in the Swissri area which also lies a walkable distance from the centres. As you get towards the heart of Madeenat Nasr, Abbas Al-Aqqad, the rental prices start to go up. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to get something quite decent for a large family for £ 150 / month. 

Flats can come either in a bare bone format or furnished. Bare literally means bare, the kitchen will not have a sink, there will be no boiler, cooker, chairs, desks, beds or anything else except the walls, the doors and if you are fortunate you might get some light bulbs. If you are offered one of these places the best advice is to try and negotiate the purchase of the various items of living in lieu of the rent, in general landlords ae expected to provide the basic amenities but don't be surprised if you have to pay up. 

So where do you go to buy all the stuff? There is a market called the Attaba market. You will be able to hire a man (300 - 400 LE) and a van (50-100 LE) to take you to the market place which lies a good distance away from Madeenat Nasr. Expect to spend half a day bartering and completing your puchases. Here is an example list of things somebody has recently bought: Water Filter (250 LE), Office Table and 2 drawer chest of drawers (650 LE), Large Kitchen Wall Cabinet (double BQs largest size) (600 LE), Small Desk and 3 drawer set (190 LE), Egyptian manufactured Fridge (1400 LE), Zanussi Washing Machine (2300 LE) : a slightly cheaper Egyptian manufactured version also exists, Electric Water Boiler (350 LE), Double Bed with wooden slats for the base (280 LE), Single Bed (250 LE), Single Spring Mattress (400) - cheaper foam varieties exist, Double wardrobe (600 LE) - a poor quality B&Q version, Standard Office Chair with Wheels (180 LE), Normal wooden chair (25 LE), Foldable Table 2 by 3 foot (90 LE). An Air Conditioner will cost around 2000 LE, this can be paid over a year. 

Insha Allah the next Jotting will be on Bawwabs and Fix-It men.

*The picture is a shot of one of the very well manufactured fans. Unlike the ones you buy in the UK these ones keep on working and come will all sorts of extras. One that I particularly like is called Natural: this setting mimicks the natural flow of air. It also comes with a nice remote control!

Expenses in Egypt (Part 6) Bawwabs and Fix-it men

Bismillah: The bawwab (Lit. door man), this is the chap and his family who is employed by the owner of the flat to look after it. They are very helpful in general and will have good insider knowledge of the area. There is a good bawwab to bawwab network and if you are looking for help to buy things, get things then they can be your first port of information. There is one bg stumbling block though, they generally only speak Aammiyyah (or Colloquial Arabic) which while it can resemble Classical Arabic can sometimes deviate so much that you might as well try English or any other language at your disposal, sign language being your last resort. Bawwabs are your first port of call when things start to fail, breakdown or require repair inside your flat. Using their extensive network they can quickly get hold of carpenters, plumbers, gas men or electricians usually by the afternoon if you ask in the morning. 

Some of the things to watchout for with bawwabs, they usually expect a monthly tip which ranges from 35-50 LE. This is over and above any regular tips you may or may not give. You can get them to run various shopping errands and they are very reliable with the money and don't necesserily demand a tip but wouldn't object strongly if you offered one. One bad habit they have sometimes which extends right across the board is that don't like saying 'I don't know', so if you ask them where the local Post Office is you will get an answer - it just might not be correct. 

Fix-it men come at the drop of a hat. They will fix washing machines, replace valves, fix broken bulbs and replace ill fitting doors and the list is endless. I have seen some terrible examples of holes being smashed into the side of towering flats to make a new window, they idea of lintels and supportng the other 5 stories above seems to have escaped that particular fix-it man. Always get the man using your bawwab, you'll at least have someone to back you up if there is confusion about the cost of the work. The service costs are not fixed and you can negotiate the labour rate before the work starts. So far we have only needed the local electrician to replace bulbs that have a habit of blowing up with the various electrical surges, and to work out why the entire cooker and washing machine were electrically live! He charged 20 LE. Try and get the owner to make good any changes within your first week. The competenece of the people who get called by the bawwab is not uniform. Sometimes you may find a previously working machine stops working after the first person came to fix it, after his second visit he will usually mumble some words of apology and try and dissapear into a thin puff of smoke. Make sure you test anything that has been repaired in front of the repair man before they leave. 

* The picture of a exposed main cabling in a local street lamp exemplifies the laissez faire attitude of Egyptians to safety. I found that carrying an electric tester is quite a useful gadget as you can quickly identify if the cooker or washing machine have been correctly wired! Let alone replacing frequently blowing fuses in flats.

Expenses in Egypt (Part 7) Safety Culture

Bismillah: In your first few days in Egypt you will soon come to realise that the concept of safety and risk is quite different to that in Euro-America. The high value accorded to a Euro-American is reflected in the increased safety culture and presence of various official bodies over seeing the process. The height of windows, safety barricades on motorways, roads tarmacced with anti-skid and anti-spray surfaces are common occurrences. To Caierenes the very concept of safety through design is an alien one. 

The first thing you will notice, as you go to see your prospective flat on the 10th floor, are the low walled balconies, with windows that open with out any safety bar or barrier. As you lean out of the window you get this queasy feeling as you reliase your centre of gravity is much higher than the sill and tumbling over would not require much of an effort. I wondered what the old lady who lived in a shoe would have to say about this has her kids ran dizzying cirlces around her. If you happen to draw your landlord`s attention to this point you will get a quizzical smile and an air of bemusement, then as if there was a moment of inspiration they reply: `Just keep the the children away from the windows.` 

Very few flats have earthing in their electrical sockets and if you stick most plugs the wrong way round into a two pin socket you end up electrifying the entire casing of the machine if it is made of metal. After repeatedly being shocked when emptying the washing machine we took out our electrical tester and horror of horrors found the whole casing was live. After a series of electiricans we eventually found a guy who explained the earthing wires have been linked to the neutral on the plugs, so if you are unlucky and stick the plug in the wrong way you will get a shocking reminder! It is common for water boilers not to have thermostats, so be careful when you open the tap and suddenly found super heated steam belching out. Usually before this happens the boiler complains with very large noises as the needle on the side goes beyond red. 

So be prepared to a bit resourceful, perhaps a role of duck tape and a bit of experience with dealing with electrical sockets. The picture is a grainy closeup of the traditional style bare bones socket commonly used in Cairo, here I am changing the fuse on the air-conditioner, mind you I had managed to locate the mains fuse and switched the electricity off.

Expenses in Egypt (Part 8) Transport & Communication

Bismillah: I have already covered the basic taxi etiquette in Cairo. The one thing that has become clearer as time has gone on is that the reaction you get from a taxi driver depends on your degree of foreigness and sadly what colour of skin you possess. I will, Allah Willing, cover that aspect of society in a later Jotting. Few people live on the outskirts of Madeenat Nasr, and most taxi rides are 3 LE from Abbas Al-Aqqaad Road to the Arabic centres. A ride from Abbas Al-Aqqad Road, to the Siraj Mall shopping mall, next to which live the Computer Mall, costs 2 LE. A ride just down the road (when flagging a taxi down just say "as-shaari" Lit. the street) costs 1 LE per person. 

There are a large number of 14 seater vans and mini buses that tout for trade. You will hear them shouting as a man leans out of the open door seeking passengers to squeeze in. These are quite a cheap option, costing 25 Qirsh (0.25 LE) for a trip down the road, or 50 Qirsh for a trip leading down two roads and the maximum seems to be 1 LE. They can be quite crowded at times with litle regard for separate areas for ladies and gents. A better option is to catch one of the 24 seaters, the seats are quite comfortable and space is not a premium and they offer quite a pleasant ride, especially if your not pressed for time and its not rush hour. Don't worry about paying the `conductor`, he will either turn up or you can pass your crunched, but mind you not torn, 25 Qirsh note to the passenger in front and it will slowly wind its way to the front. Stopping, well that can be anywhere from bus stops to the middle of the road, just holler and it will stop. 

If you want to purchase a car and a ready to sample the dodgem-like driving on the roads then there is a thriving second hand market. You will need an international driving licence, your own national licence and some proof of address in Egypt. If you can't quite muster that out of thin air, then you can get your embassy to provide you with a letter saying something to the effect. Once you purchase a car you need to register it at the traffic department in Midan Al-Attaba. Cars are unsually highly priced, reflecting the exhoribitant customs that are charged. You can buy an ancient Peugeot 504, 25 years old, for 50000 LE (fifty thousand Egyptian pounds). There is a dirth of Korean cars, it is difficult to walk a few steps without seeing a shining and gleaming example of a Daewoo or a Hyundai. The prices of a new Daewoo and Hyundai compare favourably with those in Britain and are about one thousand sterling higher for an equivalent model. Skoda, on the other hand is cheaper, not too sure why, by about £500. In the last two weeks due to the clever machinations of 'the haves' and their Trojan horse, GATT (Grand Agreement on Trade and Tarriffs), the `have-not` Egyptians have been forced to reduce their customs on cars from 200% to 40% in some cases. In the first two weeks this has resulted in some prices decreasing by 30%, but the full effects are still awaited. As the fat man said to the little boy in the cinema who could not see beyond him, just laugh when I do. 

There is a car `supermarket` where most cars are sold by traders, and the salutary lesson of those who have bought cars here is: beware. `Cut and shut`, corroded chassis painted over, rust bucket and the list goes on are all alive and well. If you want to sell your car in a hurry, then turn up at the car supermarket (sooq as-sayyarah) and if your cars looks nice one of the traders might offer you cash straight away. Private dealers advertise in Al-Ahram on a Friday and there are various websites where you can access private adds (www.caronnile.com.eg). If you decide to buy a second hand car, you can negotiate for the car to be taken to a garage and have the once over before buying, this has become quite common. 

National insurance and road tax are paid up front for a period of one, two or three years and is around 600 LE per year. Private insurance is not compulsory and there are no other taxes or tolls. Parking, apart fom the city centre is free and a free-for-all. Double parking is the norm and as local etiquette demands everyone keeps the handbrakes off so others can push their cars out of the way and get out. Fuel seems to be artificially low at around 1 LE per litre. Traffic in general is actually not too bad. Yes there are the long queues but given the size of Cairo and a population of 14 million the traffic jams are actually quite pleasant, as they continue to move and the lack of traffic lights is definitely a boon. Further, the resourceful Cairenes will turn a two lane road into a three and a half lane road as push the capcity of the road to heights that the engineers would not have dreamt off. I have yet to come across a story of a collapsing fly over, though I wouldn't be too surprised if it did happen. The other oddity of Cairenes is that they do not like using side roads, so if you have a rat route mentality then you will find driving in Cairo quite pleasant. 

If you want visions about bringing your car from overseas, then this is quite possible, and you can ship it in (UK - Alexandria, saloon £575 freight) or even drive (3000 miles: UK, France, Switzerland, Italy, via ferry to Tunisia, drive through to Libya and then onto Egypt; a ferry may go from Greece to Alexandria direct) and avoid paying any custom or duties. They will assign you a yellow plate which is stuck or screwed on to your plates and you drive around in these. There are some nominal charges for this service but the caveat is that you are only allowed to bring the car in for 6 months in one given year and then the car has to be taken out of the country. Selling it in the country is prohibited though having seen the number of confiscated cars, dumping it at the local police station is always an option, though one that may cause a few heads to turn in the current world climate. You can bring right hand drive cars but you may need to acquire permission to do this from the traffic department at Rabia Al-Adawiyyah. Diesel cars seemed to be particularly disliked, stick to petrol and you'll be fine. To get your own Egyptian driving licence go to the Traffic Department that is opposite Cairo Land. 

Public telephones are available. They operate using a card system, which can be readily bought from shops. Local calls to land lines are cheap though international calls are quite expensive. Mobile phones are quite easy to obtain and if you have one that is dual band and unlocked you can just purchase a SIM card. There are two big players on the market and they both offer Pay-as-you go services. Calls are realtively cheap at 30 Qirsh per minute to a land line, and 1.50 LE to another mobile. All the rates are published on the net (i.e. www.vodafone.com.eg). The cheapest way of phoning the UK is via the internet. I have found CallServe (www.calllserve.com) to be quite good and the service in general is quite good and calls cost 3 UK pence per minute. 

Internet cafes, ADSL and dial-up are widely spead. Accessing the internet is quite easy and you can`t fail to spot the large adverts for the dial-up ISP numbers, though you are left wondering what all those numbers are when you first arrive, they all start with 07. Unlike the UK the ISPs do not have user names and passwords (just leave the boxes blank) you just dial in and connect. They obviously make their money by getting their revenue from the telephone lines. One of the disadntages of this system is that many specific content providers can easily filter you out on your ISP and many sites that were easy to access from the UK I have found impossible to access fully while in Egypt, especially when it comes to paying via credit cards. Even in this so called utopian world of the internet there are some who are more equal than others. 

* The picture is of a 9 or 10 year old boy working as a conductor in one of the mini-buses as he casually stands half way out of the bus as it pulls ahead at around 30 mph, his voice had become hoarse with the continuous shout of "aakhir shaari!".

Expenses in Egypt (Part 9) Daily Living Expenses

Body: Bismillah: The bright orange LED display stares back at me from its little hideout on the dash board. In big letters made of little dots it informs me the temperature outside was 9.5 Celsius. A small shiver passes down my spine as I thank Allah for the warmth of the tiny car. My thoughts turn towards the desert lands of Egypt separated by two seas and the grey concrete tower blocks that make up Cairo and the completeion of my Egypt series beckons, so here goes:
BABY MATERIALS
Pampers (32), 33

CLOTHING 
Ironing (approx 3 shirts, 1 trouser), 7
Pillows (2), 35
Slippers (simple), 5

COMPUTERS
Extension Socket (6 connections), 18.75
Printer Inkjet Epson Stylus C43UX, 340
Scanner, 340

EDUCATION
Nursery (per child per month), 230

ELECTRICAL
Electric Kettle, 85
Fan (standing), 299
Toaster (2 slice), 45

FOOD
Bread (7 rolls), 1
Cheese Slices (48), 31.95
Chicken (Live – slaughtered per Kg), 8.5
Coke, 1.75
Corn, 0.75
Cornflakes 500g Kellogs, 39
Cornflakes 1Kg (local), 16
Crisps (family packet), 2.65
Date Biscuits 1kg, 8
Eggs (30), 8.5
Flora Light (small), 26.75
Honey (800g), 19.5
Laban Yoghurt Drink (1L), 4.15
Macaroni Packet, 1.45
Margarine Flora (500g), 24
Milk (1L), 3.8
Nestle Gold Crisp Cereal, 36.75
Popcorn, 5
Rice (Basmati) 5Kg, 54.75
Rice 10Kg, 54
Sliced Bread (small loaf), 4
Tang (750g), 15
Tomatoes (1Kg), 4
Water 1.5L, 1.5
Watermelon, 3.5
Weetabix, 43.95
Yoghurt Drink (1L), 4.45

FOOD TAKEAWAY
Tazaj Chicken Meal, 15
Sandwich (local chicken donner), 6

KITCHEN APPLIANCES
Washing Machine (Zanussi), 2400
Fridge, 1300
Microwave (small), 800

MEDICINES 
Acyclovir (5g tube), 4
Augmentin (1 course) childrens syrup, 12.32
Ciprofloxacin (10 * 500mg), 50
Neurofen, 7.88
Penicillin Tablets (12), 5

MISCELLANEOUS
Hammer, 9
OFFICIAL
Multiple Return Visa (per person), 16.5
Extension 1 year (per person), 36.5
Registered Post Receiving, 2
Photocopy (A4), 0.1
TOYS
Doll (simple), 49.95
Toy - Hammer set, 13.5

TRANSPORT
Taxi (short journey), 3
Taxi (city centre), 10

UTENSILS
Glasses (set of 6), 19.5
Pressure Cooker (large), 500
Thermos Flask (2 cups), 22
Bath Mat, 9
Bath Mat (Fancy), 55

UTILITIES 
Electricity / month, 170
Gas cylinder (per month), 6
SMS (per text), 0.30
Mobile to Mobile call (per min), 0.35

Driving in Saudi Arabia - Roundabouts and gaps

2008-11-26T13:53:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

According to the Wikipedia: "roundabouts are statistically safer than both traffic circles and traditional intersections", they are supposed to have 40% fewer collisions, 80% fewer injuries and 90% fewer fatalities compared with intersections they replaced. It will not come as a surprise that roundabouts gained popularity post the 1960s when British traffic engineers assessed their safety compared to intersections.

Translating these findings traffic engineers in Saudi Arabia have introduced these ideas onto roads in Jeddah and other major cities. Whether the safety record of roundabouts in Saudi compare well to the safety of roundabouts in other countries is highly debatable.

The picture below shows a sign indicating to whom preference should be given. In English it clearly reads 'PRIORITY FOR CARS INSIDE THE ROUNDABOUT', though the Arabic version of the signs says priority is for cars which are بداخل 'in' or it could be understood as 'entering' the roundabout. This may be one of the reasons contributing to the confusion at roundabouts.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="286" caption="A possibly confusing sign in Arabic at a rondabout"][/caption]

A typical approach to a roundabout in Saudi is to speed up and play a game of brinkmanship. The usual approach speed for a roundabout is a minimum speed of 60 km/hr with the average being around 80 km/hr. Drivers entering the roundabout assume they have priority and zoom straight on.

It does not take rocket science to work out that the result is a mess of weaving cars, near misses and accidents. Though it may seem illogical the received wisdom of drivers in general is to be as aggressive as possible at roundabouts and to play a high stakes-hit brakes late policy. This usually results in some heart stopping moments but seems to add to the general thrill of driving in Saudi Arabia. The tactic of going slow and obeying the rules is generally counterproductive and more likely to results in an accident.

On the bright side roundabouts provide an outlet for artistic expression. Various roundabouts are adorned with giant geometrical structures or everyday objects. A sort of modern art. The word for roundabout is دوار dawwar though official signs use the word ميدان maidaan which is best translated as square. In keeping with Islamic norms statues are not found at such roundabouts, instead geometrical and other forms of valid Islamic artistic expression are given life, though some leave you wondering what exactly is going on. As in the picture below of a large roundabout on 'Malik Road', this is a large roundabout with what looks like a set of sails in the middle.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="244" caption="The sails of a ship on a roundabout"][/caption]

If your over 30 you may remember a cartoon called Wacky Races, well driving in Saudi Arabia is quite a bit like that. The concept of lanes as discussed in the previous post does not exist. The golden rule is testosterone driven and involves trying to take advatnage of any gap no matter how small or dangerous that lies ahead. Here is one common undertaking manoeuvre special as demonstrated by the driver of a white Humvee.

A white Humvee notices a small gap to squeeze through on the inside lane

The Humvee decides to increase the efficiency of lane usage as both cars share the inner lane

The black four wheel drive is forced aside as the Humvee pulls past

Given this general attitude when driving and the knowledge that side impacts pose greater danger to occupants than rear and front collisions, it is a reasonable policy to use the car as a defensive sheild. Imagine you are a Formula 1 driver and make sure you have plugged all gaps sufficiently well when driving, if not do not be surprised if someone is trying to squeeze through.

Driving in Saudi Arabia - Lanes

2008-11-19T10:32:00.000-08:00

Within the first few hours once the new comer to Saudi Arabia has circumnavigated the various barriers to entering the country S/he will usually be greeted with a friend, company car or a taxi to ferry him from the airport to their residence. This is where the literal ‘crash’ course in driving begins. The fast journey with the weaving through queues of cars and skipping into the lane the exists between lanes is the visitors first impression. As the days pass and precariously weave themselves together into a greater tapestry a deeper understanding of driving in Saudi Arabia begins to dawn. I thought I would pen down all the various observations that have come to mind as the months have melded together.

Lane markings

The first thing one has to realise when driving is that the various lane markings that may or may not appear on various road surfaces are an after thought and should not be followed strictly. Strictly following a lane increases your chances of having a collision. The faulty assumption is that the other drivers on the road follow the lane markings. The key to driving on the various roads is to keep one’s peripheral vision trained on the bonnet of the car on your side and its proximity to your door. Keep this distance a constant and watch out for rapid manouvres especially near slowing traffic. Perhaps it is the slowing traffic though I am not sure this is the only factor, certain drivers are clearly mesmerised by the road ahead and think they are driving a snake rather than a car and attempt to slither through the traffic.

In general ignore the lane markings and aim to keep the distance between your car and the one next to it constant. On big roads this is easiest to do on the outside or fast lane. On roads within the city it is best to stick to the middle of the road. The advantage of doing this is soon realised within a few days of driving around. Usually in countries where driving rules are better followed feeder roads joining a main road have a give way sign and cars slow down or stop and wait for the main road to be clear before joining. Here it is quite common practice for cars to swing onto the main road with little regard for what is coming down the main road. It is is assumed that the inside lane (furthest away from the other side) is always empty. Sticking like a good driver to the slow inside lane will increase your chances dramatically of being hit sooner or later by a car.

The outside lane, is also a bit of a headache within the cities. Most of the large cities have a one way system, with the occasional ‘U’ turns which allow cars to change lanes. When cars wish to change their direction they use these U turns to turn around, unfortunately nobody seems to have realised that the cars entering the U turn are in the outside or fast lane of the large roads. As you are merrily driving down you may suddenly notice that the large queue of cars in front of you are actually stationery and not moving. Be prepared to hit the brakes though not too sharply as drivers tend not to observe the car in front that carefully.

One of the often used ‘cheat sheet’ methods at a ‘U’ turn is to come on the middle lane upto the ‘U’ past the long queue of cars trying to turn and then take a left into the ‘U’ turn, watch out out for this maneouvre when driving in the middle lane.

On smaller roads where the roads are not one way, the going and coming lanes are further blurred and it is not an uncommon sight to see a car venturing down the ‘wrong’ side of the road. The best policy in these situations is to slow down rather than choose the wrong lane and allow the approaching car to whizz around you. Most drivers in these parts tend to think they can whizz around any barriers like a fly zooming around someone’s head, unfortunately when both drivers heading in opposite directions have this mentality it tends to lead to mid-road collisions.

Other lanes that you may not realise but do exist especially on the various highways are the service lane on the inside and the patch of desert on the outside. Both are used quite often as traffic density increases especially on the way to popular destinations such as Makkah. If you happen to look in the rear view mirror and see a cloud of dust coming up on the outside lane, that is usually someone driving faster than everyone in the outer lane but along the desert track. Other places where an extra lane is squeezed out is the small gap between the outside lane and the crash barrier on the Jeddah-Makkah highway. It is a daily sight to find people flashing away at the car in front and overtaking squeezing through gap between the cars in the outside lane and the crash barrier. In such conditions miscalculations are not infrequent and it is best to avoid this outer lane when traffic is moving at high speed, in particular on the Jeddah Makkah highway.

Next post, God willing, will be on the art of round abouts.

Knowledge v Experience

2008-11-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

"Knowledge is knowing how things work, experience is knowing how things don't work."

Poem - Kings

2008-11-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Like the smile of a man dying and old
Teeth brazen and bold

Pompous fountain relating stories
Reliving an age gone of past glories

The rest of the building stands by
Humbled by the blackness slowly rising high

Lost in the shards of infinity
Our hearts in their vicinity

A dull beat against the cold
Our hearts stained and rusted since old

Lamps draped in black gowns
Mortar boards and two towns

The mythology self fulfilling
The masses ever following

Devoid of schism a panacea they paint
The truth reduced to a tapestry faint

But never shall the twain
Abide with each other in refrain

Live and let live their call
But far short of Him they fall

O sweet Granada and Spain
Do you witness this tragedy and pain?

Little do we learn
From history and its return.

A poem after visiting King's College, Cambridge (1989)

Poem - Trinity College

2008-11-08T11:16:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Distant echoes of a hammer beating
An eye blinks watching
The staccato of heels clicking
On cobbles pathetic silently mourning
Graceful towers rising
Hands of a clock ticking
A fountain flowing
Hearts leaning and yearning
Behind veils of ignorance hiding
If they knew tears streaming
They would have been weeping
Footsteps silent I am leaving
The fountain falters and restarts waiting

A short poem after visiting Trinity College, Cambridge (1989)

Poem - Desire

2008-11-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Desire directs that wondrous eye
To every bright sight low or high
Ploughing through a heart in toil
Soul rent and ripped apart in turmoil

Screaming voices shout
Straining as their ropes pull taut
Footsteps falter
Minds mulling upon an altar

Columns close to collapse shudder
As hands strain at the rudder
Ego and hero embrace in enthrall
Continuous in motion till the final fall

Poem - Obama or McCain?

2008-11-04T11:58:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Obama or McCain?
The choice is really plain
The world waits on hold
Hoping for a favourable poll

Not only in the US of A
Will they spend the whole day
Glued to net and screen
Awaiting the play's final scene

Perhaps the world will witness
Messiah Obama's promise
Or McCain with cheeks round
With side kick palin' around

But past the tears
That every looser fears
The world stands in hope
For breadth of vision and scope

But what tomorrow brings
A sage voice in warning rings
Temper with reality not emotion
For titans turn not in mid-motion

To the real One we implore
Bring him to the fore
Whose harm is less
To those under the titan's duress

Poem - Cadaver (51D)

2008-11-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Your body an enigma
With scalpel and knife
I shall slit thee without rife
Innards captured no more a dogma

Full of hope and glory
To your pages I seek
Flesh bound in fibres sleek
Timeless melodies I play
With a sharpened bow of steel
Silent notes arise
Lamenting in anguish it cries

As muscles I peel
Figure once hidden from prying eyes
Now open, in front of me it lies
Like hands that cast aside a reddened veil

Rivers of blood run dry
Streams and lakes parched
Winding pathways sheathed
Upon which messengers ride
On fiery steeds with lightning at their side

Now no hoof beats pound
The shudders of life, shattered
Left a silent noise
A warning to prying eyes

Quranic Pearls: Intercession & even - connection?

2008-11-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Reading verse 85 from the fourth surah (Al-Nisaa' - Women.) I was puzzled by the words in red:

مَّن يَشْفَع شَفَاعَةً حَسَنَةً يَكُن لَّهُ نَصِيبٌ مِّنْهَا وَمَن يَشْفَعْ شَفَاعَةً سَيِّئَةً يَكُن لَّهُ كِفْلٌ مِّنْهَا وَكَانَ اللّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُّقِيتًا (4:85 )

85. Whoever recommends and helps a good cause becomes a partner therein: And whoever recommends and helps an evil cause, shares in its burden: And Allah hath power over all things. [Yusuf Ali]
The above is Yusuf Ali's rendition of this verse. A literal translation will probably show what I found puzzling:

Whoever intercedes (yashfa') an intercession (shafaa'ah) of good there is for him a portion from it, and whoever intercedes (yashfa') an intercession (shafaa'ah) of evil there is for him a portion from it. And Allah is over everything capable.

What I found puzzling was the use of the verb يشفع yashfa' (to intercede) and its related noun شفاعة shafaa'ah (intercession). My brain paused at this point and tried to work out what was meant by intercession here. The commentaries of Sayyid Tantawi and Fath al-Qadeer combined to offer a very nice linguistic explanation of this word. The verb yashfa' is derived from the noun شفع shaf' or even, as opposed to odd. It may leave you wondering what the connection between even and intercession is?
Every even number can be thought of as a paired number. This is the key to the link, the pairing number can be thought of as aiding or helping the odd number to become even. Hence the meaning of intercession: 'the act of mediation through speech to help someone achieve something beneficial or save him from something harmful, whether in this world or the next'.

It brings to my mind the picture of someone pairing with someone to help them carry out their deed - good or bad to greater effect. The imagery of the Quran never ceases to amaze me:

ربنا زدنا علما O our Lord increase us in knowledge.

36 'C'-crets of successful teamwork

2008-10-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

Ever wanted to stop that routine job you are doing and start a business? Or start a group to do something useful in life, parent-teachers association, charity club etc. Perhaps the wages are not good, the lifestyle not what you want, the freedom to live according to your schedule rather than be at the beck and call of others, an impulse to help others. Whatever the reason is or isn't, the next step is to think about how you would do it. Solo, partnership, limited company etc. The list of possibilities can be confusing and the two that seem intuitive to most people are either going solo or doing it together with others. It is the second that I wish to share my 36 'C'-crets about.

Not really a mnemonic fan but finding them sometimes useful I wondered if I could put enough words beginning with the letter 'C' to describe what are the key ingredients to a successful partnership. I don't think these are just applicable to partnerships in business but any endeavour in which people work together in teams. As my source of inspiration I have drawn upon the world's greatest example of teamwork, the life and times of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his 'co-workers', the Companions.

Caution	In balanced measure to avoid being reckless but not too much to avoid being timid.
Challenge	All the team members, let everyone feel they can hold the others to account and give them the space to do so. The so called 360 degree feedback.
Chance	Exploiting chances when they arise.
Clarity	Of what is expected. Why are you doing this? What are the main aims? Money, quality of life, altruism, Allah?
Class	A touch of class - your USP (Unique Selling Point)
Cognizance	Of the idea, preferably through your own experience in such a field.
Co-location	For an idea to take off face to face interaction between team members is best.
Combative	spirit to fight and struggle against the barriers that inevitably occur.
Combustion	Money that needs to be burned before the business is self supporting. You need to keep your business, self, family going through the initial lean times. Somewhere around 2 years.
Comfort	Of knowing you have the support of those near and dear. If your wife is dead against the idea – think again.
Commitment	100% - No backing out. Burn your boat, no going back. Have a do-or-die mentality.
Communication	Channels between team members should be open and it should be regular. No going off and doing your own thing
Companions	Want for your brother what you want for yourself. Think about your team members and they will think of you.
Compatibility	Are the team members compatible? Choose carefully when you start, you might be great in limited situations but when the going gets tough you’ll really find out who you are dealing with. Acid tests: do business with a guy, travel with him, be his neighbour. This was the advice given by the second Caliph Umar.
Competition	Knowing the competition inside out, but not overstepping the boundaries.
Complete	Transparency 100% transparency required in business dealings with the team members especially where money is involved.
Compliant	Is the idea halaal (legal)?
Compos Mentis et Valetudo	Sound of health and mind, business is very stressful, best done if your fit and well.
Comprehension	Thorough comprehension of the task involved and its requirements.
Concentration	No multiple ideas. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid principle), start simple and build up.
Confession	In your own weaknesses.
Confidence	In your idea and your own willingness to succeed
Confidential	Don't tell the world until you are ready.
Conscience	of Allah’s laws and the rights of fellow man.
Consensus	Don’t ram rod your ideas on others, get them on board and listen. In your meetings ask yourself ‘Am I listening or am I waiting to speak?’
Consistency	Of effort of work. Remember the last 20% of effort will take 80% of your time.
Contingency	Planning, what to do if things go wrong.
Control	Believing that the locus of control i.e. the ability to change starts with you and is not in someone else’s hands. What a friend of mine called tawakkul juice.
Conviction	Of Allah's help.
Cooperation	Obvious but true!
Cordiality	Partners fall out, the best get back together and become stronger.
Courage	In leaping into the unknown
Courtesy	To all those around you - co-worker, competitors and customers. Good manners can win the world.
Co-vision	No pulling in different directions.
Crafty	Ready to change or add ideas depending on opportunities.
Cultivation	of new ideas, talent and the next generation.

المشاكل في تعليم اللغة

2008-10-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

كما يعلم الطالب تعلم اللغة أمر مستمر وبوصول الطالب إلى الجامعة لقد حصّل بدون تعب وشعور على وفير من الكلمات. ومن المشاكل الرئيسية التي يواجهها الطالب في تعلم اللغة الجديدة هو معرفة الكلمات الجديدة فهما ونطقا. لقد طلعت في الشبكة العالمية على ملخص للرسالة يركز على هذه المشكلة ويقدم بعد الاقتراحات المفيدة لتعليم الكلمات الجديدة.

من الجميل في هذه الرسالة أن من تعلم ألفي كلمة فقط سيمكّن من معرفة حاولي ثمانين بالمائة من الكلمات في ما يقرأ. والكلمة في الرسالة تشبه ما تكون من المصدر ومشتقاته. لكن للأسف المتبقي من الكلمات العشرون بالمائة مفتاح لفهم الجملة. وللتمكن من تخمين معنى الكلمات المتبقية يحتاج الطالب أكثر. يحتاج معرفة خمسا وتسعين بالمائة من الكلمات في الجملة.

وللحصول على تلك القدرة يحتاج الى حفظ أكثر من ثلاثة آلاف كلمة - بمعنى الكلمة سبق. أتمنى أن يكون ما سبق مناسبا للغة العربية. نعم هذه الرسالة طويلة المحتوي لكنها مهمة لمن يهتم بهذا المجال خاصة لمن يحاول أن يصل إلى درجة الطلاقة في اللسان تساوي درجة الخريج بنسبة معرفة الكلمات وهو 20000 كلمة

English

Poem: Teachers

2008-10-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah:

Teachers
How quickly time flows
Racing along class rows
Red ink lace
Black in its embrace

Pupil cacophonies echo
Parents in constant woe
Try their best with scion
As hours roll on and on

‘Unrecognised are we!’
Voices echo in unity
Perhaps you shall know
As buds bloom and grow

Once stems into trunks turn
Shall you remember and yearn
But who is left beyond the pause
To listen to the dying applause?

The little boy in the mosque

2008-10-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah

I see him running,
Hands in the air waving,
Through the double glazed door,
Heedless and rushing like the day before.

His small head looks up at the racks,
Eyeing a gap between shoes and backpacks,
To the highest rack his hands can rise,
He places his slippers in a gap caught by his dancing eyes,

Once again through a second set of doors,
Quickly he dashes the patter of feet as he goes,
Joining a line he stands,
Just as His Lord commands,

Hands he folds on his tummy then his chest,
He wonders as they slide up and down which spot is best,
Then as if he hears a voice reminding,
He raises them to his ears rewinding to the beginning.

del.icio.us Tags: Poem child praying,Muslim child praying,daily prayers,mosque,masjid

Visa run - UAE to Oman Hatta border

2008-10-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

As the rules currently stand in the UAE British passport holders can enter the country quite easily. They get a free visit visa which lasts for 60 days. If you would like to stay beyond this period then you have the option of getting a long term residency visa which lasts 3 years. You are qualified to get one if you find a job or purchase accommodation.

Like most other countries in the Middle East they still require being free from medical diseases such as HIV (AIDS), Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C. A criminal record check pass is also mandatory. The medical requirements are an unfortunate fact for may who have contracted this virus through no fault of their own. This does not apply to visitors, which always strikes as me as a very unusual health policy as its probably visitors who spread such viruses. If you wish to stay for longer than 60 days without the hassle of getting a residency visa you have one further option.

That is to do a 'visa run'. This involves leaving the country and going to the nearest foreign country and then re-entering the UAE. Obviously there is a cost to this exercise especially if you have quite a few people in your family. There has been some indication that this loop hole is going to be plugged but as far as I am currently aware this is still in operation. The Dubai government has good web portals where you should be able to get information, but sometimes finding the relevant information can be quite a task. So where can you go?

The closest foreign country and the cheapest one to get to is Oman, via the Hatta border. Below I have listed the notes I managed to jot down as I went on my 'visa run'. The information is based on a visa run done in late 2007. Hopefully someone will find it useful especially if they are doing the run for the first time. Though I must say there are plenty of fellow travelers most of whom speak English and you can usually work out what needs to be done without knowing everything before getting there:

21.15 Left Sharjah in our hire car. We had investigated getting insurance for the car before we left from Sharjah, but it was terribly expensive. we thought we would it give it a go at the border post.

21.25 Took Emirates high way heading to Abu Dhabi.

21.35 Turn off for Hatta porly sign posted exit was on the right but turns 270 degrees clockwise to join highway to Hatta then Oman E77. It reads: Hatta 82 kilometers Oman 90 kilometers. Dragonmart (Chinese market) and International city on the right.

21.59 It is Thurday night road relatively quiet three cars per kilometer. Two lane road. Street lights present. Fair number of roundabouts and u-turns.

22.02 Past some local shops.

22.04 Hatta 50 kilometers.

22.05 Bump in middle of road. Resmo restaurant and cafeteria. Street lights not working.

22.07 Driver of second car feeling sleepy.

22.09 Stopped at roadside restaurant but no tea avalable.

22.10 People jogging on the highway wearing shorts and white t-shirts!

2211 Place selling lots of pots and pans very big ones - they hav a small cafe selling tea. It is called Madaam. Nice carpets and cheap pans and pots. 65 Dirhams for nice big kettle - cost 150 in Jeddah airport. Extensive parade of shops furrher in Hatta 47 kilometeres

22.32 Wilayah Mahda. Street lights continued and speed cameras have changed.

22.36 Beginning to loose reception to Radio Sharjah.

22.40 Shell petrol station. Warning sign for camels.

22.42 Oman mobile network picked up.

22.43 Rocky landscape begins.

22.42 Entered Masfout, lots of carpet shops.

22.46 Diesel advertised. Hills getting taller.

22.48 Stadium in the middle of no where, 10 kilometers to Hatta.

22.51 Sign for service station. Shrubs and trees increasing in number.

22.53 Hatta sign posted right Oman straight at roundabout, Emirates co-op on right. First sign for Masqat.

22.56 Road becomes hilly.

22.57 Checkpost 300 metres.

23.00 Arrived at Hatta pasport section.

2319 We arrive at a portacabin office. Need to get out of car. It's the first UAE checkpoint, passports are stamped with an exit stamp. We drive on in our UAE hired number plate car. Road continues through no man's land about 1 kilometer. First building on the right, easy to miss, insurance company and petrol station. It looks shut and as its the dead of night we decide to forget about getting car insurance and take a chance. If we need it we will come back but we can argue we are not really entering Oman. Small snack shop, last chance for food. I note a long queue of lorries, right lane for lorries and left lane for passenger vehicles.

Omani security guard waves us forward past the truck queue. A sign reads 30 percent tinted glasses are not allowed to enter Oman. Next stop is customs.
We switch lights off at customs and the officer gives a cursory check, peers into the boot. He then gives us a piece of paper and tells us to hand it over at the the exit point. We carry on the road, there is no sign of life. The single lane becomes two lanes and street lights appear.

23:50 We come to an open area with a white building in the middle. Road passing on the right and left and a big car park in front of the building. Some cars are parking while others head straight on to the side of the building where they stop and are handing over documents to a man sitting at a roadside window booth. The border post is called Wajaja.

The building is quite impressive and looks clean from the outside. We enter through a double sliding door into an air conditioned hall. The air conditioning is not as good as it ought to be but is acceptable. Its probably much warmer in the middle of the day. It is quiet at the moment. There is a cash machine for Oman Arab Bank on the right hand corner as we enter and some 4 marble plinths acting as benches with a few indoor plants. Toilets wise they have male and female toilets and there is a ramp for disabled or wheelchair access into and out of the building. My wife reassures me the toilets are not in good shape, avoid them if you can. There are no food kiosks, machines or drink dispensers. It's a nice place for kids to run around, though there are lots of strangers around, it feels pretty safe.

We line up at booth 1. The sign above reads 'Arrival visa, tasheerat al-qadimeen / cashier'. There are windows on either side but only one is open at the moment. A sign on the counter says we accept Visa. I searched for the paper which I was given when we arrived by the guard at customs. I panic as I thought I had lost it but alhamdulillah I found it. The paper had our car number plate and the country of origin written on it. One of my children asks, 'Why is this taking so long?' I reply blankly, 'It's a border'.

The queue is typically Middle Eastern, it is broad rather than long. We get to the front, I tell him the number of passports we have. They are charging 60 AED per passport and accept UAE dirhams. The guy takes our money and punches something into his computer and gives us some forms. We came armed with extra pens and quickly distributed the form filling chores and tried to fill everything as quickly as possible. We then slide back into the queue and patiently edge our passports in front of the officer, the clock ticks on.

00:55 am He eventually takes our passports, he asks us whether we would like to go back or enter Oman. He's obviously aware of the visa runners, we say 'Go back'. We get two stamps, one square the other round.

01:04 He takes the passports to the officers sitting at the window booth dealing with cars entering Oman.

01:12 We get our passports back.

01:14 Walked to the exiting Oman window booth and gave passports in - guy took them & said i need qaseemat khurooj ie a vehicle exit fee receipt 20 AED (2 omani). He points to a cabin situated further down the road, I walk over slowly until I arrive at the cabin which is 600m deeper in Omani territory. I give them the money and I get my qaseemat and walk back.

01:21 My vehicle 'exit fee receipt' is stamped. He writes on the card the number of people in the car, it must tally with the passengers so make sure it is right. He gets our number wrong and I show him the passports and he agrees and amends the number. We make our way back, the car park has an exit on both sides, one leading to Oman the other heading back. We meet the customs guard, I notice I have misplaced the customs document that we got when we came in. I think I left it with the guy at the border office post. The officer says we don't need it.

01:44 The customs officer takes our vehicle exit receipt and gives the stub back. we carry on back to the UAE across no-man's land to the welcome sight of the UAE border post. I look at the trip meter which we had reset when we set off, it reads: 115 km.

01:51 Back at customs he just waives us on. We stop at another portacabin a mirror image of the one we just left. I hand in the passports as the family stays in the car, he peers out and makes sure the number in the car match the number of passports. We get a new 60 day visa, he enquires why we are entering, I say for a visit. As the hush of the night gathers we exchange notes on wages in the Middle East.

02:01 Our passports are stamped and we get one final bit of paper.

02:04 We edge forward another 20 metres and hand the paper to a sentry standing with the barrier lowered and watching in puzzlement as the kids who have now got out of the car are ducking underneath and running on to meet our relative who had been waiting on the other side for our return. As i come to the barrier I note on the other side of the road two ladies driving a four wheel drive car seem to be doing the same visa run, they are alone and seem quite well practiced. I make a mental note that it seems very secure at this border point. We give our final piece of paper to the sentry and we have re-enter the UAE, alhamdulillah (thank God).

del.icio.us Tags: UAE Oman visa run,Oman Hatta border,Dubai Oman border,visit visa renewal UAE,border post,Hatta border post,visa run time taken,distance to Oman border

How do you install a water tank in Jeddah?

2008-10-21T00:46:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

We needed a water tank as the old one was leaking. These tanks sit perched at the highest possible point on a building and are quite large. The smallest capacity is 1000 litres costing 750 Riyals at that volume. Other more expensive varieties exist which claim to keep the water cool and can start at 4000 Riyals.

Being quite large you can't carry them through the door and up onto the roof via the roof access. The word crane had been mentioned and I sat waiting for the delivery of the tank. I was very surprised to find that it arrived in a small pickup with no crane in sight. On inquiring two men brandished their coiled ropes and said don't worry they would sort it out. The pictures tell the rest of the story. As with programs for children this one goes with a danger warning - do not do this at home!

First: One worker climbs onto the edge of the wall on the flat roof and assesses the situation from the third floor.

Second he squats calmly on the edge and lowers two ropes down.

Third the ropes are tied around the water tank, with a third steering rope.

Fourth, he is joined by his colleague, equally happy to sit perched on the edge of the roof oblivious of the potential danger.

Fifth, with a gravity defying deftness they stand up and begin to haul up the water tank.

Sixth, job done.

Welcome to Jeddah.

Arabic - How many words do I need?

2008-10-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

Bismillah alhamdulillah.

Language learning is a continuous process and without realising it by the time a student reaches university they have a very wide ranging vocabulary. One of the major problems that learners of a new language face is vocabulary acquisition, getting new words into their receptive and expressive memories. There is an interesting PhD Research proposal which looks at this problem and offers some interesting ideas and vocabulary acquisition strategies.

The good news is that by just knowing 2000 word families a person will understand 80% of the words he reads. The bad news is that the 20% of words that remain are the key to understanding the meaning. Also guessing the meaning of the new words from context is not possible when you only know 80% of the words. The silver lining to the cloud is that if you understand 95% of the words then you can have a much better chance of successfully guessing the meaning of the remaining words. You can achieve this by having a vocabulary of 3000 word families. Though a guess it is probably not a bad estimate that this applies equally to knowledge of Arabic roots.

Though quite long it is a valuable read for anyone interested in the topic or struggling to learn those elusive 20,000 word families that will give university level proficiency in a target language!

Observations from a British nurse

2008-07-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

"It's amazing that patients accept treatment from people who don't speak their language. We would never accept that in the UK"

"Saudi Arabia is a high context culture in contrast to the UK which is a low context culture..."

"...here the context of a situation is part of the communication..."

"...people here see, more than they hear'

del.icio.us Tags: patients in Saudi Arabia,British nurse in saudi,high and low context cultures

Driving licence - Jeddah style

2008-07-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah:

With my international driving licence wearing away I decided it was time to grit my teeth and take the trip to get my licence. The international licence had come in handy as it allowed me to hire a car for the first few months. But the international licence does not last forever so I started by trying to work out the requirements to apply for a Saudi Arabian driving licence:

Medical form: These are presumably present at the licensing office. Most large companies have a department or at least a person dedicated to helping foreigners negotiate the various official requirements. The form is issued by the General Traffic Department ( Ar. idaarat al-aamah lil muroor). The medical exam is quite cursory and the signing doctor confirms your blood group, eyesight and whether or not you are disabled in any way that will impair driving. No mention of heart attacks, epilepsy, stroke or diabetes is mentioned. Don't forget to get the piece of paper suitably stamped, nothing like a good old round gleaming stamp.

Photocopies galore: I count the papers carefully making sure I have everything:

1. Identity card (known as your iqaamah or hawiyyah)

2. A copy of my current licence (European and N American licenses qualify),

3. A copy of my passport

4. A copy of the visa entry page in my passport

Letter of Introduction: A letter known as a 'Letter of Introduction' (Ar. kitaab ta'reef), this paper is essentially a letter from your employer confirming your are employed with your company. It should be on an official letter head addressed to the Traffic Department.

Eight photos, yes 8, two less than the total number of fingers that most people usually have. What happens with the eight copies of the photos is unclear but rest assured make sure if you come to live in this part of the world always carry a ready stash of photos in your wallet. Tip: Photos are cheaper than in the West, most studios will give you a digital copy of your photo which you can carry on a USB stick, it will save you some time when you ask for more copies. Carry two sizes a small and a normal passport sized one to cover most situations.

The fee, it is a very reasonable 75 Saudi Riyals for a five year licence. Just in case you could flash your Visa card take a deep breath. Fees must be made via an ATM machine directly to the government, so far so good. But one slight problem, it seems only certain banks are linked into this system. Most foreigners tend to have a fair degree of doubt about the efficiency and reliability of local banks. They tend to opt for banks that are familiar to them back home but come unstuck when they need to pay the various government fees. Local banks such Al-Rajhi are fully linked to the payment system. Where foreigners do not have accounts with such banks they usually find someone who does and pay them in cash and request a payment on their behalf. The ATM spits out a receipt which has the payment receipt, reference and your iqaamah or ID number.

Cash: You also need to carry 75 Riyals in cash to pay for the translation of your licence. This is separate to the 75 riyal fee above.

Having counted all my papers I made my way to the assisting department, a day was set for me to be taken to the licensing office and we were off:

08:45: Left place of work. We weaved across Jeddah via Madeenah Road, then Tahliah, then Makaronah, right at Ameer Maajid (aka sab'een road), left at Garnata street and then right at Arbaeen street. A U turn about half-way down and a right just after Manarat school. Roughly 1 km down the road we turn right and park the traffic office lies on our left.

09:10: The outside of the traffic department was a sea of people and make shift cabins where people were seeking help to fill in their forms. Photocopiers powered by petrol generators dotted the pavement and customer support staff were hawking the streets looking for people who looked a bit lost and tried to guide them to their shop. Walking quickly behind my guide I avoided their queries and we were soon through the gates entering into a building probably built in the late 60's or 70's. Soon we were through the front door and into a chaotic mass of people. The first thing that struck me which was unexpected was the presence of large easily read signs. They were written four different languages (Arabic, English, Fillipino, and one Indian language) were clearly numbered and easily read. I was looking around for a sign that would give some helpful instructions but could not find one. My guide asked me to join a queue while he waited for my arrival at the front.

Counter 1: the queue moved quickly, a man stood inside with a cup of cold coffee in a polysterene cup carefully placed on the inside ledge keeping him company. He was the 'have you got all the papers' man he would quickly glance at the papers and make sure all the paperwork was in order. He gave my papers a quick look and then with a flourish that he probably maintains for the first 2 hours of work he stamped my form. Forms in hand we moved to the next stop.

Counter 2: Eyesight test, I walk into a room a man sits with a long cane behind an empty desk. I sit down on the only other chair in the room and look at a mirror which reflects an eye chart from the wall opposite. Armed with his cane he looks rather sinister and blows a puff of smoke into the air. The cane is manouvered onto a letter - I repeat the letters and three letters later I have bagged another stamp and signature and move on. As I leave the eyesight testing counter I spot a room where blood tests are being performed on an industrial scale, blood groups are done locally I take a mental note.

Counter 3: The translation booth, I give my 75 riyals and hand over the card part of my licence. A few minutes of standing and the licence is translated. I dispense with paper part deciding making things complicated would slow things down - nobody blinks an eye and we soon move on.

Counter 4. A ticker tape system stands on the right and a dull red sign hanging overhead with numbers changing regularly. I instinctively head towards the ticket dispenser and take a ticket. My guide has decided to ignore the system and makes his way pushing through the people at the counter with my papers. He waves my papers at the officer standing on the other side hoping to avoid the queuing system. I sit down waiting to see what would happen. To my surprise he is politely rebuffed and asked to get a ticket number. I wave the ticket in my hand and let him know I have a ticket, he joins me and we sit down on the provided chairs. A moment to pen some of my observations down.

Soon our number appears and we submit our papers and use the ATM paid 75 riyals to submit the payment. We pay at the cashier pick up a receipt and the first stage comes to an end. My licence will be ready sometime later the agent tells me and he will pick it up and bring it back to my workplace. I look at my watch and to my surprise it is only 09:23.

As we leave without my new Saudi licence I wonder when I will get it, I am told by the guide about 2 days. As we return it turns out he is a second hand car sales man. After discussing what type of car I was looking for he just happens to have a car waiting outside the car park which he can show me. I have a quick look at the car and nearly faint at the strong smell of smoke that permeates the fabric of the car. I thank him and say sorry the car is not one I would be looking for. I am not too sure whether this disappointed him or not but the 2 days stretched themselves into 2 weeks, no clear explanation was given but I eventually acquired my credit card sized licence. I don't complain as I am suely becoming acclimatised to the slower pace of life in this part of the world.

Technorati Tags: Saudi driving licence,Jeddah traffic department,requirements for a Saudi licence

Do you know your collar-ankle length?

2008-06-26T01:42:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah: Some useful tips on thawb buying. A thawb (Arabic: ثوب‎, ṯawb), dishdasha (دشداشة, dišdāšä), kandura (كندورة, kandūrä) or khameez (قميص, qamīṣ) is an ankle-length garment, usually with long sleeves, similar to a robe. Chest sizes are mentioned with letter sizes: M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL. A medium chest size corresponds to a thin person, the L to a the average 70 Kg man, XL for someone who is slightly overweight and so on.

The other challenge is to get the right length of the thawb. Thawbs come with an extra number which corresponds to you collar-ankle length. Simply work out the collar-length in inches and remove two inches to work out which thawb is suitable. A few example conversions are given below:

Thawb Length Size	Collar - ankle length	Suitable Height
60	58	5' 10''
62	60	6' 0''

The back door of ideas

2008-05-30T01:08:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah. In a recent shopping trip to a book store in Sharjah in the UAE I came across this book in the English section. The book was called "Palmistry Made Easy" by a J S Bright, the author of a previous book called "dictionary of Palmistry" and a practicing palmist - the fancy word for a fortuneteller.

I was only mildly surprised to find such a book in a well known store in conservative Sharjah. In a smilar vein books and articles on Feng Shui occur from time to time in the English press in even more strict Saudi Arabia. What twenty years ago was unthinkable has transformed itself into the common.

Saudi Arabia usually presents an air of impenetrability when seen from the outside but seen from the inside the picture is quite different. It has become quite porous and increasingly vulnerable to the storm of ideas that is happening in the world outside. The promotion and ready take up of English as a language especially by the young has provided a fertile ground for many ideas. Many, such as palmistry, represent an anti-thesis to the core principles of Islam. Speaking about fortunetellers the Prophet Muhammad (S) said:

"عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ مَنْ أَتَى عَرَّافًا فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ لَمْ تُقْبَلْ لَهُ صَلَاةٌ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً"

Whoever came to a fortuneteller and asked him about something then his prayer will not be accepted for forty days. (Muslim)

Anyone who actually believes that a fortuneteller has the independent ability to know the future has committed major shirk, which takes a person out of Islam. Going to such a person for fun without believing in him/her results in a person's reward for prayer being cancelled for almost 6 weeks.

What is that?

2008-03-06T12:32:00.000-08:00

A quick trip to our local cheap market called Souq Al-Shati in the north of Jeddah for some head scarves for the kids. As we stand at one stall negotiating a price for a pack of head scarves my attention falls on this pack of liquids.

As I watch my wife negotiating away I start dreaming about a nice jelly dish. How nice of the vendor to have pre-made jelly for parents to take home as a simple treat for the kids.

'Excuse me what is this?' I inquire just making sure that it was jelly before agreeing to buy it.

'That's ...' he pauses for a moment and then continues in Urdu, 'not for you, it's for black people.'

My dreams about jelly vanish into thin air, 'It's what?' the rise in my voice goes unnoticed and my wife is still busy with the head scarves but her attention has shifted to the neatly arranged box of liquids.

'African people use it to lighten their skin.' he continues folding the open head scarves in a matter of fact way oblivious to my concern.

I recall a story of a man who ran a shop in London and was arrested by the Health and Safety officers for selling illegal products to lighten the colour of skin. The man was taken to court and the judge found him guilty and charged him over a hundred thousand pounds. His lawyer was about to appeal for leniency when he found his client the guilty business man was already leaving his chair. A cheque for the amount lay on the table. The lawyer ran to his client and said, if you give me a moment I can try and appeal for leniency.

The business man shrugged his shoulders telling him not to worry he was making much much more than this. Skin care products was one of the most lucrative items possible. Especially the ones full of illegal and very potent steroid creams. Steroid creams in the long term are known to damage skin by thinning it irreversibly. But the combination of money and vanity are symbiotic.

Fidgeting

2008-03-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The young man had been fidgeting quite a lot during the Maghrib prayer. He had managed to remove his watch from his pocket and strapped it on, checked the time and bent down to straighten his socks to mention a few of his movements. As the imam concluded the prayer, I hesitated, should I try and say something? Could I overcome the language barrier? Would a few words put this young man off praying in the masjid again? The questions revolved around in my brain when I extended my hand in salaam.

I first asked if he spoke English. He looked at me blankly the smell of a recently smoked cigarette wafted over me as he exhaled with his face turned towards mine. I paused and then launched into my faltering Arabic, hoping the young man's classical Arabic was up to scratch.

A man builds a beautiful house. Once it is complete he enters it and begins to destroy it, he wrecks the door then the windows and then the walls. What do you think of this man - sensible or crazy?

He smiled shaking his hand in the air indicating the man had lost his mind.

You are like a man building a house, you came all the way to the masjid, made wadu, stood in front of Allah, then when you entered into your house, the prayer, you began to wreck it by your excessive movements. I stopped.

His teeth broke through his lips as his smile widened, his right hand met mine in a strong handshake, "Jazakallahu khairan (may God reward you)".

Ramadan Greetings

2007-09-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

Bismillah, alhamdulillah.

I hope and pray that everyone is well.

Glad to have Ramadan here, a nice time to eat those lovely dishes at opening fast time, revel in sitting for hours staring at the television screen once we are back from taraweeh prayers. The constant infusion of food and drinks just in case we don't wake up for sehri/suhoor. The hunt for the imam with the most beautiful voice so we can enjoy the melody of his voice rather than the melody of the meaning of what is being read.

The above paragraph is probably written in the Satanic Manual of Misguidance, probably page 1, important ways of misguiding the believer during Ramadan. Though there is probably some writing in red which has a warning printed on it, it may read: "Warning all jinn devils will be locked up, distribute this information to all human devils".

The first taraweeh prayer here in Jeddah and the imam at the Shuaibee masjid pointed out that while the devils amongst the jinn were locked up their brethren from human kind were fully intent on mischief making and becoming more active. Special television series had been prepared with plots based on adultery and other evil to be beamed by satellite channel straight to the little mendacious box in the corner.

The imam did point out, that though the signals were unstoppable we were the people who had decided to buy the satellite receivers and televisions. He urged everyone who truly believes in Allah and His Messenger's message to switch the television off and stop watching the filth that was pouring into our homes.

Sounds like good advice.