Umar: A Man Disenfranchised

AA

Alhamdullilah and MashaAllah, my brother Umar recently matched into a residency internal medicine program in Milwaukee. It was his top IM choice and forces him to become a "real" doctor now. :) Which is great for me because I had to admit that if he went into radiology, I would've been upset that he couldn't as easily prescribe me free drugs and all the other fringe benefits a "real" doc would get. Haha. Plus, his excellent (mashaAllah) bed side manners would've been gone to waste and an trait like that is very important to have in a patient's well-being.

Anyway, what should've been a celebratory email from Umar turned into something ugly, enlightening, and ultimately disappointing and alarming. So now I ask you to read the following recent email correspondences and make the same call I did: Umar is in fact disenfranchised:

16-Mar-2006: Umar sends email to close family/friends announcing the following (pay specifc attention to the bold/italics):
"Assalaamu alaikum,

Alhamdulillah, I've matched to internal medicine at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. I'll start in July, insha'Allah. Long term I may pursue something in cardiology or pulmonology, but it's a little early to say right now. It will be sad to leave Chicago, but Milwaukee is really just a northern suburb, after all...

I can finally be a Green Bay Packers fan in the open..."

17-Mar-2006: Tareq Mahmud - a fellow UofC alum like Umar and one of his close friends who hails from Philly - responded:
"salam, Congratulations dude! Although Milwaukee isn't nearly as exciting asfun-filled central PA I'm glad you matched somewhere. But sad to leaveChicago? Man, you haven't lived in Chicago since '99. Be real....I'm glad you can be somewhere where people will be more accepting of yourkind and where you can find a community of individuals like yourself. Iadmit when you came out as a Green Bay Packers fan last year I had a lot oftrouble coping with it and trying to understand. You see, my belief systemjust doesn't accept people who have made that choice or who were born thatway or whatever. But I want you to know that, although I secretly hope fora scientific cure to Packers-fannism, I'm trying really hard to accept it,and if that's what you think is best for you in your life, then I'll supportyou in your insanity...."

18-Mar-2006: Umar Shakur's really gay reply:
"Walaikum assalaam dude,

Thanks, thanks a lot. I'll have you know, Packers fan are people too. Sure we may be "different," sure we wear hats that look like cheese, sure most of the fans smell like cheese, but as a until-now expatriate Packers fan, these are things I put up with in the name of one thing: victory.

Sure we had an anomalous year - a terrible year - last year, but I can't wait til this year starts and the Bad News Bears reveal their true colors. And I really can't wait until Orton gets traded to another team (hopefully Green Bay) and becomes a stand-out quarterback while the Bears foolishly struggle on with Grossman.

We shall see who laughs last, muahahahahaha"

20-Mar-2006: My insightful response that pretty much summarizes Umar Shakur:
"AA guys,

Ignoring Umar's very gay reply, allow me to build upon Tareq's email. You will note that this will inevitably be posted on my blog:

See, Tareq, I guess I have a long way to go. I cannot in anyway bring myself in supporting my brother just because he thinks something is good for him. Let's come to reality here. We're talking about Umar. Umar Shakur, to be specifc. A man, as we all know, that will support any sports team based on his affinity towards that team's logo and/or color scheme. A man who will ask, "When is the Super Bowl?" two weeks after the fact. And finally, a man who professes to be a devout Chicago White Sox fan (coincidentally during their championship season) but cannot name a single player without looking at http://www.chisox.com/.

So you see, I just can't bring myself to look past these troubling issues. It's hard. In fact, I often wake up in the middle of the night waking up my mother yelling, "Mommy, you can't be a Bears fan and GB Fudge Packers fan and still be considered human, right? It's not possible, right, mama?" My mom laughs saying, " Azubillah, Imran. You're just having a bad dream. Nothing like that can exist unless the person has no back bone. No go back to sleep."

Alas! Little does dear old mother know about her middle son's dangerous obsession and flirtation with the inherently stupid and prolifically gay GB Packers.

Actually I hear stories -- troubling stories -- of Umar disrespecting the Eagles, your team, Tareq. Again, another tragic example of how Umar spits in the face of Chicago -- the friggen land that raised, cultivated, and nourished him -- by dissin Chicago's own Donovan McNabb. I mean, at least show some due consideration here! A few yrs back when Philly beat Da Bears in the playoffs, I was sad, but at least I knew that it was one of our own that beat us. Sure, the Eagles didn't have a great season this past yr, but they were by no means the laughable GB Packers [abrupt and roaring laughter from everyone reading this for even considering the thought!].

Finally, Tareq, I have some hesitation is continuing to dilude my brother in his simply whacked football beliefs. In his response, he acquainted the words "victory" and "Packers." WTF? Is he serious? I think this only means one thing: the multiple sacks the Bears has on Favre somehow also caused Umar a concussion. And in true Umar-esque fashion, he still disrespected his team by saying, "Sure we had an anomalous year - a terrible year - last year."

Umar, it's not about living in a fool's paradise and thinking that your team is untouchable or infallible, but it's the principle here. One second Umar will be like, "Bears won?! NO WAY, man! I told you these guys are the Monsters of the Midway!!" The next second, "Bears lost?! I figured they would. Anyway, did you see the Houston Texans?! They won! Man, these guys are gonna take it all the way...! I've loved them since Day 1. Woo hoo! And their colors look, like, totally cute, too. Heehee..."

Cheers."

Rgds

Friends & Family: Group Naming

Salaamz

I think it's important to have a group name for each of your respective groups that you hang out with. Aside from feeling cool, you also feel like you belong to something great, something noble, something with meaning.

In honor of this, I'd like to post the following note-worthy, distinguished group names (note: some of these group names were created just now, but definitely fit the bill):

Disclaimer: Before my brothers try to make fun of me on how valley girl-ish or high schoolish this post is, please keep in mind that these are my brothers talking. They don't have any friends. They don't know what it means to belong. And yes, while this blog entry sounds like the beginning of a MTV teen movie, it's still like totally a rad idea, dude. Totally rad, man...

Me & My Bros: 3 Stooges (title name courtesy of our mother). Really, that pretty much sums us up. 3 Musketeers would do well, too. So would Single-Hot-And-Looking. We're like the original 'homies' when that word was invented. Soul brothers up in this. Also, Italians. Think about it: One second we're, let's say, passionately arguing with one another and the next we're straight up chillaxin like we belong on The Cosby Show.

Me & AJ: Rajpoothis, Husband and Wife (the roles vary day-to-day as to who is who), My Buddy & Me (remember that toy/commerical?), The White Man and The Nigga, Sufis up in this, Made-for-Each-Other, UMMAH's Jummah Coordinators, The Executives ("AJ, tee time is at 3pm sharp. We can discuss our company's business objectives at that time, too." "Sounds good, Imran. I'll give you the 10,000 ft view of it.")

Me, Taha, Ahmed: Da Niggaz, Professional Pakistani Pimp Playaz, 3-way, 2pac-T Man-Prince AH (okay, I just totally made those up). Note on pic: Yep, that's Taha's chest hair showing. Yes, AH is in fact either farting underneath Taha's blanket and laughing about it or probably doing something he really shouldn't be. And yes, I do have a beautiful smile (confirmed that night by AH himself).

Me (not pictured; I know, it's unheard of!) & Erik: The Original Thugs, The Original Gangstaz, Girls Suck, I Hang Out in Erik's Back Pocket, 24 was she, Kinda like an armoir if you will, and perhaps most accurately, Dorks. Haha, those have to fit, right, Eswft? But I gotta ask, man, why the hell you lookin so pensive at a restaurant? What could you possibly be philosophizing about? Anyway, I'm sure me and Erik would've had a pic together by now (after 8 or 9 yrs) had he actually been my friend the past year. But now that he can be, I guess we will, right? :P

Me & Taha: Punjabis. Yep, that's it. That word encompasses everything between us. Da Niggaz would apply here, too. Okay, I'm still not sure why he looks so uncomfortably gay in this pic and why I'm blatantly showcasing my foot as if it was insured by the Lloyds of London. Let me also throw in: Roomies, Balle Balle!. Taha's made up some good ones in the past that I just can't remember right now.

Alright, I'll have my other peoples up on this soon, too...

Cheers

Travel in class...

Salaam

Okay, Arabs do have too much money. This is incredible:

UAE First Class


One day...!

Quote Board

Hi

I've been meaning to do this for a while. A blog entry dedicated to random and often funny or at least stupid phrases said via Gmail Chat -- the best thing for people who have firewalls blocking all other IM services -- or email. It's things like this that keeps me sane throughout the business day:

14-Mar-06:
Chat between me & Taha on Taha convincing me to come to STL this weekend:
Taha: "ur f-ing coming to stl....i dont care if that means we have to kidnap u...we will....we already have the knock out gas...aka...ahmeds ass! We will bust into ur house...and hold u and ur fam at "ass-point" w ahmeds BazoooKA"

08-Mar-06:
North Siders Email Group. The guys were trying to figure out what my Gmail Chat Status (="Rajpoothi") means:
Asghar: "Imran what the heck does Rajpoothi mean?"
Mehboob: "i believe imran said thats the brandname of his favorite lungi or something like that."

15-Mar-06:
Chat between me & AJ. The following is AJ's response to an analysis a friend of ours did on some 'stuff.' This is an AJ classic. If you don't get it, you had to 'be there':
Me: "your thoughts on Farooq's analysis?"
Ahmed: "10,000 ft view: he hit the nail on the mother head. not only that, he drove that shit all the way thorugh the board and it came out the other side that's how hard that mother hit that nail."

13-Mar-06:
Chat between me and Taha. This is me giving Taha an update on coming out to STL this weekend, which unfortunately couldn't happen, and his - most likely accurate - reaction:
Me: "Oh, possibility of STL is looking good, mashaAllah. Holla!"
Taha: "haha. With u there is always a possibility. If u were held at gun point and i texted u hey wanna go eat it?, it would still be a possibility"


More, later...

New Links

Hi

Okay, it's been a while since I've last told everyone about some interesting/cool/random links to visit.

Microsoft:

1. www.live.com
2. http://local.live.com/

[Courtesy of Baseer, Farooq. Proof that MSFT can only copy other technologies and try to improve on them. Whether or not you consider them improvements is up to you.]

Google:

1. G-Drive? Awesome!

[Courtesty of Baseer, Umar. Proof that Google friggen rocks.]

Fox Network:

1. Black. White.

[Courtesy of Baseer. Proof that MJ's song Black or White is wrong? Did you get your race card? Ice Cube didn't. Neither did I, yo!]

Dada:

1. MP3 shoe.

[Courtesy of Farooq. Proof that technological advancements can sometimes lead to stupid things. As Farooq would say, WTF? Or as he did say, "scariest thing i've ever seen."]

Bhangra:

1. Dance practice by some fellow Paki who can throw it down! He starts off slow, but towards the 2nd minute, he throws it down and then at the end. Regardless, I want to be his yaar.
2. Punjabi Handshake. A sure to be classic.

[Courtesy of myself and Taha. Proof of my Punjabiness. Haha...sorry, had to throw in something Punjabi. Balle Balle!]

Later

Other Funny Sufis Do Exist...

AA,

Here's proof:
http://beatniksufis.wordpress.com

I like their recent one on hand shaking and this one on finding a sufi woman. Ahh, how I feel their pain:
http://beatniksufis.wordpress.com/tag/marriage-advice/


Enjoy (enjoy fisabillilah, that is)!

Imam Abu Hanifa's (rh) Greatness (mA)

Salaam

[Oh, and for more on Imam Abu Hanifa, click on: Shaykh GF Haddad.]

Forwarded to me by Hafiz Sayeed Shariff of Indian origin:

Three Tough Questions

There was a young man who went overseas to study for quite a long time. When he returned, he asked his parents to find him a religious scholar or any expert who could answer his 3 Questions. Finally, his parents were able to find a Muslim scholar.

Young man: Who are you? Can you answer my questions?

Scholar: I am one of Allah (SubHana Wa Ta`ala )'s slaves and Insha-Allah (God willing), I will be able to answer your questions.

Young man: Are you sure? A lot of Professors and experts were not able to answer my questions.

Scholar: I will try my best, with the help of Allah(SubHana Wa Ta`ala).

Young Man: I have 3 questions:

1. Does God exist? If so, show me His shape.

2. What is thaqdir (fate)?

3. If shaitan (Devil) was created from the fire, why at the end he will be thrown to hell that is also created from fire. It certainly will not hurt him at all, since Shaitan (Devil) and the hell were created from fire. Did God not think of it this far?

Suddenly, the Scholar slapped the young man's face very hard.

Young Man (feeling pain): Why do you get angry at me?

Scholar: I am not angry. The slap is my answer to your three questions.

Young Man: I really don't understand.

Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you?

Young Man: Of course, I felt the pain.

Scholar: So do you believe that pain exists?

Young Man: Yes.

Scholar: Show me the shape of the pain!

Young Man: I cannot.

Scholar: That is my first answer. All of us feel God's existence without being able to see His shape... Last night, did you dream that you will be slapped by me?

Young Man: No.

Scholar: Did you ever think that you will get a slap from me, today?

Young Man: No.

Scholar: That is takdir (fate) my second answer........ My hand that I used to slap you, what is it created from?

Young Man: It is created from flesh.

Scholar: How about your face, what is it created from?

Young Man: Flesh.

Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you?

Young Man: In pain.

Scholar: Thats it. this is my third answer, Even though Shaitan (Devil) and also the hell were created from the fire, if Allah wants, insha-Allah (God willing), the hell will become a very painful place for Shaitan

The scholar was Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahmatulla Alai) and the man, was a famous jews scholar of that time and after this incidence he became Muslim and accepted the right path, this shows logical proofs also the way to spread Islam


wow!

Robotic-like Dancing

What up?

This is insane! How do these guys move like this (especially the last one)?

I mean, I know I can do that relatively easily. But how do you cats out there hang with this? Enjoy...



Get this video and more at MySpace.com


Cheers!

My Brothers: Over the Hill. Hell, the Mountain...

Hi

In a recent post by Ali Shakur, my eldest brother, entitled It's only a number, Ali tries to make his geriatric self feel good by convincing himself that turning 29 is "only a number."

In fact, in my case study entitled Ali & Umar: Renaissance Men Beyond Their Time I have found that Ali has woefully succumbed to clinical Ageium Denialus, or Denial of Age When Fast Approaching 30 and Still Single. I do acknowledge that this topic is a very sensitive one and many scholars have cautioned students of knowledge such as myself not to openly discuss these affairs with the masses, but I'm afraid I can't help it. Ageium Denialus (AD) is a progressive disease that is now knocking on Ali's and Umar's door. Or more accurately has huffed and puffed and blown their doors down.

Let's look at some text from my analysis, due to come out sometime before I die:
"25.Feb.2006: It's been two days since Subject A [Ali Shakur] has turned 29 years old. Much to my own surprise, he handled the first day of elderlyness relatively well. Of course, this was largely due to the family's collective realization that pointing out his age would ultimately lead to sheer pandemonium. Rather sadly, however, the subject has introverted his age-related anguish on the second day by posting a blog entry entitled It's only a number. We can see clear signs of AD by the following two sentences: "I have not seen a movie in two weeks! If you have a suggestion, please post it." As a scientist, I must inquire what the is the correlation to movies and age? And how did this random thought surface? Upon further investigation, I soon discovered that one of the symptoms for severe-fulminant Ageium Denialus is randominity (from Stedman's Medical Dictionary: a pathological state found in AD patients facing advanced stages of oldness where the patient will suddenly remember 'random,' but psychologically personal issues in his/her life like not watching The Simpsons in 3 weeks, not having read an Archie comic book in a few years, or not watching a movie in two weeks). I will continue to monitor Subject A with an ever watchful eye..."

Additionally, I'm ashamed to admit how this has effected Umar, too. In recent times when he has introduced himself and me in social arenas, he - without hesitation - introduces himself as my younger brother. While this on some level humbles me, I later find myself sheepishly pulling aside the individual we were introduced to and confirm what they had expected; that because Umar is rightfully embarassed to admit that he's nearly 30 he will purposely introduce himself as my younger brother as to avoid imminent societal rejection. Thankfully, due to my own self-acclaimed youthfulness and rigor (mashaAllah) the individual will respond, Yeah, I figured that one, man. But you're a brave man for taking your brother outside the house at his old age. Embarassed, I reply, Trust me, I have no choice...

Folks, this is a serious issue that we can no longer, as a community of intelligent and responsible young adults, ignore. To learn effective management techniques on dealing with someone you know who had AD, please contact me immediately.


Stay True. Stay Young.

Texas & Islam

Howdy

Can Texans really become Muslims?

LOL. It definitely sounds funny, but this is actually a very interesting video clip, so do watch.

One of the more intriguing points a white male revert (who has a Moroccan wife -- who thought that he was initially too strict with her -- and a daughter that wears the hijab in the middle of nowhere in Texas) mentioned are the looks he gets from both non-Muslims and Muslims (most likely thinking to themselves, Who is this white guy with a Muslim girl?). The part that is a great deal of interest to me here -- and bothers me quite a bit -- is the fact that fellow Muslims have to stare at this guy. I've seen this before and to be honest have done so myself, but not in a way like, Who is this guy?, but rather, Oh, mashaAllah, the deen has no boundries!

Perhaps the revert or any other minority individual in the masjid feel as though any look is somehow demeaning, regardless of one's intention? I guess the reason why I do is more so out of wanting to reach out to this person so they never feel left out. This is an unfortunate reality we must come to terms with: segregation within the Muslim community especially here in the ethnically diverse USA.

I'm sure you have your own story, which I'd like to hear, about how you've seen this segregation in action. Allow me to share a couple of mine with you:

1) I pray jummah at the Islamic Cultural Center in Northbrook, IL where the community is largely Bosnian/Albanian. The masjid, which also is home to Averroes Academy, is small, but very beautiful mashaAllah. Anyway, a couple years back a friend and I were talking after prayer inside the hallway (this was back in the good ol days of my 3 hour jummah breaks!) and I noticed a black brother in the corner of my eye. This guy was eyeing every single brother that walked by him, but most obviously in a manner where he was hoping that someone would come up to him and say salaam. But everyone just continued on their way, most likely going back to work, and perhaps didn't notice him. It was easy for me to spot him out because there are typically only a couple, if any, black brothers you see at ICC. So, after a minute of watching this, I couldn't stand it any more and went up and said salaam. The response I got I cannot forget. It's hard to when you meet someone so genuine and so, no other way to put it, beautiful. SubhanAllah, this brother was so, so elated that someone finally came up to him to greet him. He -- Khaleed -- told me that he was so happy that I did and told me that how he's heard of brothers that have mashaAllah converted to Islam but have left because they're essentially not met with open arms in the community. So I became fast friends with this brother. I found out that he came from California and embraced Islam, mashaAllah, while in jail. But when he did, it turned his life around. His wife was still a non-Muslim, but he would tell me things like, "Yeah, brother, my wife is still not Muslim, but I'm working on her. She sometimes asks why I can't do certain things like I used to and I tell her that because here in the Quran, Allah tells me not to and if Allah tells me not to, then I can't."

Honestly, when I think of the beauty, conviction, and simplicity by which he
said that, it honestly makes me cry. Cry because I feel embarassed that I don't
have this brother's hikmah...

...and logic in obeying Quranic imperatives and simply rationalize things by saying, "...because Allah said so." I mean, I buy into that logic and fact, but it's more so feeling embarassed that I don't manifest this in my actions. And cry also because of Khaleed's love and fervor for wanting to be a good Muslim and reform himself. Without wasting time, he asked me to be his partner in reading books on Islam and sharing them with one another...

Unfortunately for myself, this story ends on a personally sad note as I've lost contact with this brother. I can only blame myself but be grateful to the Rabil Alameen for blessing me, even for a moment in my life, with such an enduring and significant relationship and bond with brother Khaleed. Ya Allah, Bestow Thy Mercy, Forgiveness, and Best of Blessings onto Brother Khaleed. Draw him to the path of guidance and draw him closer to You and Thy Messenger (sw) each passing moment. Allah huma salay Allah Muhammad. Ameen.

Anyway, you can inherently see my 'connection' to this issue. InshaAllah, my hope is that we're able to benefit from this story and apply the path of love in our short, passing lives.

2) This story comes from a friend of mine. In a desi-dominated masjid in the city, a black brother was enjoying some food inside the masjid. Soon, he was scolded by desi brothers for eating in the masjid. Yes, you should not make a mess in the masjid (which I'm not sure if he did), but the messed up part was that these brothers were apparently eating food (biryani, to be specific) themselves! It gets worse. Later on, purposely in Urdu, the desis were talking about the brother right in front of him! In fact, the group of desi uncles were joking and laughing at the brother. Then, according to my friend, the black brother got up and told them, "Look, I'm not stupid. I know you guys are talking about me and making fun of me." With that, he got up and left the masjid with no one from the desi group preventing him or apologizing to him.

To me, that's pathetic and most certainly a sad state of affairs within the Muslim community. How can we be so closed-minded and unappreciative of our fellow brother? Where does the sunnah tell us to exploit or spit on another mumin?! Here in America, a land that has opportunity and certain freedoms you cannot enjoy as easily elsewhere, we must ensure that regardless of one's ethnic background, the American Muslim must be open and loving to one another. I speak specifically of the American Muslim not to say that other parts of the mumin world are not affected by this disease, but because it's the best context I can speak personally about.

The positive effects of being accommodating to a minority Muslim in a masjid are, inshaAllah, innumberable. You have my first story as proof, and beyond that we pray that for showing mercy (in a sense) to someone that Allah will return your kindness by showing Mercy to you. Hey, we're not capable of turning someone's heart to love, but we can definitely try our best and hope for the baraqa in being a part of it...


Duas please!