Unveiling Islamic Centers in America

I came to the US six years ago. I loved the fact that I was close to a mosque and could offer prayers in congregation. As I continued to frequent masajids and "Islamic centers", I began to notice the subtle differences between masjids in India and America. Although the primary goal of worshiping Allah was accomplished in both places, it appeared that the secondary goal of bridging the community was more easily achieved in the west. This was my first impression and as we go further into the topic, you may well be saying "all that glitters is not gold"...

Right off the bat without further due, researh proves that humans often associate feelings to a particular places that lead to either a "+ve" or good feeling or the opposite- bad feeling. So I asked myself what feelings to we associate our selfs with while visiting the house of Allah in both countries.

In India, I always felt the desire to visit masajids was driven by Tradition or respect for elders who advised the youth to pray in jamah. Although I am proud to say they are many people of "ikhlas" who solely visit to seek Allah's pleasure. We never had any formal gathering that involved communication or two way dialogue between the masses and the management. It was often limited to a one way talk - straight from a pulpit during Jumah. .Hence the predominate if not comprehensive set of feelings associated with the house of Allah were Tradition & Respect

In the US, the desire to visit masjids for most people was driven by the need to feel a sense of belonging, this was especially true among the immigrants. Again, I proudly recognize the people of "Ikhlas" who would pray in masjids anywhere on this planet! simply to seek Allah's pleasure.

The interesting aspect in the west is the need to socialize after prayers, the desire to be a part of , "halakas", Islamic education for children, Eid parties!, I know it sounds all rosy and fun...but hold on as we begin the unveiling.

Hence the predominate if not comprehensive set of feelings associated with the house of Allah were Sense of Belogning & Recreation.

In my sole opinion and (I am not propagating it to be the ultimatum) the best masjids are the ones where Allah's right (Tawheed) is established and where love and brotherhood prevail over egos and power struggles. It could be a shed or a 4 storey Islamic center- don't care.

Advani the terrorist

Advani Exposed as a Terrorist

"White" Women, "Brown" Babies and "Green" Cards

This ain't no secret and hell ppl out there are doing it all the time....so why not pen down my thoughts. To get straight to the point- why use women to get a citizenship? why fake affection and love , why "conceal" the ultimate motive?. Now, I am NOT saying all inter racial marriages are based on such goals. But look around how many men do you see, now with kids and a wife from back home, after getting his citizenship done thru some naive white women? Its like ok- 1st phase over- next phase, Inshallah I will be a good daddy and Hubby. Wait a sec you ,just walked all over some women's heart and destroyed a budding family.

Its strange how we have this amazing potential - potential to elevate our status above the angels! IF we live up to our "Humanity" that is. A dog, is going to die a dog- no matter how faithful he was to his master. He has no choice to elevate his status. But we Humans have- ONE chance (this life) to rise above the angels!!, just like our father - Adam (PBUH), angels were asked to bow down b4 him when he was created , if we live up to being Human, kind, compassionate and merciful. We too have that potential to raise our status, else the quran says we would be "lower than the animals" It is God's mercy in giving us this "choice" as to where we want to be...truly the prophet was sent to perfect "Human Character" .

All the rules -salah zakah,hajj, fiq, halal,haram are ALL important but hey their goal is to perfect Human character, to teach us how to be HUMAN. If we stick to the above and still deceive, cheat ,envy, judge and hate others.. we are only degrading our status.

This life is that One chance- make it or break it.

The Power Of Opposites

Beyond any doubt, God's infinite intelligence cannot be comprehended....but we sure can get glimpses of his wisdom. A thought provoking design is the nature of opposites in life, in humans, in feelings, in colors, in just about everything you can find "Opposites". For good there is evil, for darkness there is light, for wellness their illness, for prosperity their is poverty. I wondered why ? why would the most merciful create diseases? why would the most compassionate create something so horrific as hell?

My limited human perception tells me that such opposites actually enable us to cherish the bounties . What!? ...yup imagine if everything we ever ate was sweet, we would not know what sweetness really is! its only when we taste bitterness do we know the "opposite". If we were always full we would never know what it feels like to be hungry. If we never felt sorrow, we would not value happiness. If not for Hell we would not strive to abstain from evil and desire Heaven, if not for sickness we would not be so cautious of our health. If not for the cruelty of the ppl of Taif, we would not have known the ultimate mercy of the prophet (SAW) , if not for evil people in society we would not have valued sincere ppl. The wisdom behind opposites may confuse the human mind, but its necessity can only be seen when one observes our very own human nature.