786 Hate Hits Home

2011-05-30T09:33:00.000-04:00

Watch this news report:

Tell me what you think in the comments.

Me personally I am not surprised. In the wake of Obama’s daring announcement there had to be yahoos out there who wanted to relive the glory of taking down the “bad guys”. In their warped minds they saw this place of worship as a terrorist training center or whatever else popped into their pea sized brains. Masjids across the country have been vandalized in one shape or another ever since we started building them. Each time law enforcement and the general public have agreed that they are hate crimes and have dealt with them in accordance.

So why bother mentioning this at all? Well for one thing highlighting the menace of Islamophobia. Muslims used to be the ignored minorities but after 9/11 we are the new blacks. Meaning just like the Native Americans, African-Americans, Catholics, Mexican and any other minority group you can think of we to have been singled out for a hazing. The hazing ritual is an exploratory phase in which xenophobic members from the majority find out what the minority group is made of. If said minority group can endure said hazing ritual for several decades, they will then qualify to move onto the next stage of social acceptance. Sitcoms will be made about “those nutty guys”, your prominence will be made known in political circles, you might even become trend setters, heck one of your kind may even become president. But until that day its best you stay put and don’t make us nervous with your foreign ways.

The other reason to mention this particular case is that my sister’s family attends this mosque. My nephew goes to their Islamic School not too far away. This was an attack not only on my religion, my community, my right to freedom of religion but also my family. Now where do we go from here? I can bitch and moan about how unfair this is. Which would be silly as sadists have done far worse to others family. I can rally the troops and give a call to action. But really that’s not my thing I have work in the morning. Or I can just pray for protection and hope Allah mia guides these vandals to good. Yeah. That will work.

Choice content

2011-05-26T07:53:00.000-04:00

Don't let money men tell you which companies to "watch". They're only interested in making a quick buck, with no real effort behind it. If you must watch a company, watch it for the right reason. Here is one in particular: Ihsaan Fusion. Run by brothers with some serious talent. They cater to the Muslim communities residing in the Western world, by providing excellent media solutions. Incidentally they are doing this years YM convention, which is how I found out about them.

Check out what they have to offer. Especially the Torch Bearers:Scholars of Islam, which is a very important app that can run on your IPhone. In this day and age we never get a chance to reflect on our rich heritage. What's more we are constantly on the defensive having to justify our beautiful religion to Islamophobes. I might have to get an IPhone for the baby name app, yes i m hinting at my future father years, if indeed Allah Tallah has written that for me. (Yes, Yes, more on the wedding in the weeks to come)

These guys also do motion, checkout some of the videos they made:

SimplyAct - Blankets of Hope from Ihsaan|Fusion on Vimeo.

I really like how they help out the homeless. I often see them in my neighborhood sleeping out in the open exposed to the elements and wonder what I can do? It's good to see the brothers from the charity helping them out like this. The guys from Fusion really embody what I am trying to do here. A voice for the voiceless a conscience for a spiritually dead world.

Redesigned for you

2011-05-19T07:40:00.000-04:00

Have you visited my website lately? It has been redesigned just for you! I've added a new gaming section to highlight all the wonderful DE I am making. Plus the homepage has been streamlined to feature only choice content. My schpeel about why I do what I do has been moved to a new Concept section which I am constantly refining. So go check it out! This invitation won't be engraved anytime soon.

PS: As always you can go to the bottom of the blog and click on the Sadisoft logo to go to the website at anytime. Enjoy!

Passing of a Comedy Legend

2011-04-29T07:50:00.000-04:00

I like laughing just as much as the other guy. Why do you think I don’t take the news too seriously? (Half of it is BS anyway, what with the media pushing its own agenda, brainwashing the masses) My primary news source is John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. What’s more I believe everyone should have a good laugh at least once a day. It’s the best medicine.

If you are familiar with desi pop culture especially the Pakistani comedy scene. You would have heard of Moin Akhtar. He was a talented comedian whose honest insights illuminated our society. Holding a mirror to our faults, he was the people’s man. Often being affectionately called Moin bhai, his cultured comedy was well received by all ages.

I remember spending countless afternoons at my aunt’s house watching his serials, dramas and comedy shows. His mannerism was contagious, we would find ourselves mimicking his dialogue in our daily lives. Even now after his tragic passing as I sift through old video clips of his work those pleasant afternoons are relived.

Pakistan has been given very few towering personalities. All too often they are taken from us much too early. Anytime this happens we are all overcome with a sense of loss. We find ourselves wondering who will show us the way now?

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'oon. May Allah turn your grave into a heavenly garden. Ameen.

PS: Sorry Kate and William fans no commentary on the royal wedding from me. Mainly because I am too focused on my own wedding plus I am not British so I don't get it.

I am SadiSoft, Hear me Roar!!!

2011-04-21T07:35:00.002-04:00

Kewl, eh? Every good gaming company needs a logo when their titles start up. This is mine. You'll notice that I took my logo and made it animated. The animation coincides with a killer soundtrack of thunder rumbling in the distance. This is only the first salvo more game related goodness soon to come!

TIP: Maximize the video for best viewing experience. Otherwise everything will look teeny tiny.

Valley of the Wolves!!!

2011-04-03T21:24:00.000-04:00

So every weekend I make it a point to go through all my friends updates on Facebook. They share a lot of interesting stuff and sometimes we happen to be logged in at the same time and start chatting. This past weekend I came across a popular Turkish TV series, The Valley of the Wolves. It's about a Turkish commando that gets sent off on wild and exotic missions 'ala Bonds, James Bonds. But what prompted me to share the fictitious heroics of this dashing spy was of course political intrigue.

You see the producers (Pana Film) were not content with the small screen they had visions of bigger things. And so was born Valley of the Wolves: Iraq. A full length feature film featuring Turkish actor Necati Sasmaz as Polat Alemdar, the swashbuckling spy. The film strings together factual events that took place in Iraq during the time of Bush's so called "War on Terror". Polat who is sent by his government on an unofficial mission into Iraq quickly befriends a local Iraqi girl who just lost her husband, during a fire fight with American soldiers at their wedding. The movie goes on and shows the atrocities committed by US soldiers and their for hire security personnel, black water anyone? Ultimately Alemdar kicks some serious American butt.

The production budget was around $8 million and it shows. There were some places where stunts were in order (e.g. the train scene) but the camera looked away letting you imagine the stunt. However it did have some great explosions and the drama was superb. Plus some well known American actors such as Billy Zane & Gary Busey added to the performance.

For all you Ummatis out there, you can find some sage advise in the sub-titles. Answers to such pressing questions such as Why are we in such a wretched state? or Is suicide bombing permissible? or What is really going on in Iraq? are given by a character who plays a Sufi Sheikh (the nasheed scene is not to missed!). Plus the narrative pulls you in to a larger drama, which is superbly executed.

I love how this move breaks away from the cliche of "America F*** Yeah!" and bumbling Arab terrorist getting the snot kicked out of them by US Special Forces. A myth perpetuated by Hollywood for decades, so they shouldn't be complaining about tasting their own medicine. At any rate the opposition did not like unsettling the status quo and the film drew criticism for being Anti-American. Which is funny as it is anything but. NO ONE and I mean NO ONE liked what we did in Iraq. Good men and women were put in a bad situation by facist war mongers like Bush, Chenney, Rumsfield and their long line of henchmen. Is it so wrong to depict them as the villains they are? I mean come on the past administration was nearly charged with war crimes, it was only their influence and wealth that saved them! Of course I am not here to make up your mind decide for yourself:

This film is reminiscent of Muslim classics such as The Message and Lion of the Desert (directed by the late Moustapha Akkad). In that it gives our perspective. Something that is sorely missing these days. Any serious student of history knows that you can not judge past events without first examining all sides of the equation. If news reports are the first draft of how these times will be remembered then the arts are the second draft. This film goes a long way in crystallizing the other side of the equation. People who are claim to fight for democracy and freedom of speech should find no objections to a balanced equation.

More toys!

2011-03-20T16:15:00.002-04:00

No I am not superficial but there are material things that I have been hankering for quite a while. One is a digital camera the other is a car (more on that later). I need a way to keep in touch with family back home and this is a great way as they can see how I am doing. Here is a picture of me with my shiny sony cybershot:

This picture also fulfills the blog author pic quota for the month, whatever that means.At any rate this will also go a long way in sprucing up the place (meaning my virtual place...my blog folks!). There have been some really great events that have passed by. I only documented them with the written word but now I can supplement that verbal description with a visual one.

Plus the camera holds more significance I plan on using it to document my new life. A new life that started with my marriage to MW. It is my desire that with this camera we film many happy moments together. It could be anything from long drives across open highways, trips around town or even quite moments in our home. It doesn't matter where we are or what we are doing as long as their is a smile on our face and love in our hearts.

UPDATE: So I briefly mentioned getting a car and promised to have more details as soon as they came in. Well guess what the details are in...I got a CAR!!! I am a proud owner of the following automobile:

This beauty was given to me by my uncle. He recently bought a brand new car and decided to give me his old car. This just shows you how important family is. With out them we as individuals or even a species couldn't survive. Who else would put up with you, your morning breath or crispy eyes, with the mess you make, with your temper tantrums and what not. I told MW about the generosity of her uncle.And she praised him profusely.

It runs great and I love zooming down the highway (always observe the speed limit kiddies). Of course parking is a nightmare in the city. People literally stalk you for your space. Plus I got a ticket for a parking violation. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and signed up with a garage. They are willing to let me park at their place for a monthly fee. My building has a parking lot but it is full and I have placed myself on their waiting list. So let's see how long this arrangement will last.

But one thing man. Cars are expensive insurance, gas, registration fees, parking, repairs...the list goes on and on. I see my monthly savings shrinking in the near future. But hey it's worth it I don't have to carpool anymore. I can leave when I am ready, making me my own man. Plus I was thinking when MW gets here will I still be schleping around in the subways. How would that look? Poor thing riding subway cars with homeless bums stinking up the place. Now I feel more of a man as I can take her around town in a safe (I don't drink, I am a defensive driver plus I recite the dua for traveling plus another one my big sis gave me i have them taped to the dashboard for easy recitation) and comfy car.

Besides I am a motorist. So look out world because here I come!

UPDATE: So the car needed new tires they would shake and rattle anytime you went over a certain speed. Plus the steering wheel would jerk all of a sudden. I figured new tires and a wheel alignment would take care of that. So I went looking around for a good deal. My uncle, who gave me the car recommended Pep boys. I called them up but found out that they don't have tires for my nissan and would most likely have to change the rims. No thanks. Then I got to thinking maybe I should head on over the dealers to get it fixed. They even had coupons!

So I found a dealer and went over. Aside from the usual servicing I also wanted a spare key and new wiper blades. All of this was a one time cost for repairing the aging car. I didn't mind to much as it was gifted to me with the warning that it required repairs. Being a first time car owner I wanted to lavish the car with love besides MW would be riding shotgun (more on that later). After dropping the car off early morning they said to come pick it up in the afternoon. I left to do some errands around town old school, meaning on foot. (there's a very siendfieldish incident where I left my house keys attached to my car keys and had to leave my groceries with the neighbors to go get them but that takes from the post).

Around noon time I got a call stating that I needed more work done as the racket pinning was worn out and needed to be replaced. Realizing that they weren't BSing me I authorized the repairs. It would take a week as the parts had to be ordered. I was back to carpooling which was a real bummer. But the bruising didn't stop there. Once my co-workers found out about my car and that I went to the dealers they were rolling their eyes and saying you got screwed. I kept telling them that they had coupons!

When I got the repair bill I started understanding their concern. Over the weekends I ran the numbers and found out that I couldn't possibly afford their services as I would slowly but surely go broke. My co-workers recommended independent shops, really any one would do with an old car like mine as they couldn't do much more damage to it. Speaking of which I get a coupon for a free car wash from the dealers. When I went to collect the guys sprayed high powered jets of soapy water into my brakes while washing the wheels. When the car got out of the car wash tunnel it would shake anytime you braked. I gave the guy in charge a piece of my mind. But he assured me if I gave it time the water would dry out. Well the brakes did dry out and the shaking stopped but the road weary parts became squeakyish. Why is the world conspiring to ruin my car?

Anyways I had to find a new repair guy, one that I could afford. I found him in the yellow pages. We had a nice chat over the phone he gave me a good quote much lower then the dealer. Plus he turned out to be a brother. Which is nice but I want to see some paperwork before I hand over my car. Luckily they guarantee all their work. So in the meantime I am recovering from my folly. I have huge expenses coming up what with the wedding (more on that later on as well) and all. So I need to save up as much and as fast as I can. Can anyone say hutzpah!

Drink this read that

2011-03-06T18:28:00.001-05:00

And now for another installment of my world famous column in which I suggest some reading material and a nice beverage to go along with it. Seriously folks I tried this before (here and here). Since no one burned me at the stake I'll try it again.

Being a sci-fi geek and even bigger Star Trek aficionado I decided to use my end of year bonus (generously given to me by some really great people I work with) on pure unadulterated splurging. After getting MW a gift, the details of which will remain unpublished as that would ruin the surprise, I decided to buy something nice for myself. Not wanting to spend too much yet wanting a good entertaining ST related experience I decided to get this:

Yes it is what it is. The way I see it, it's the best of both worlds. I am too tired from work to read through a novel (I know this is blasphemy for a writer such as myself, but hey that's just how my brain is) yet don't have the time to blast my way through a video game. So I can read short quips along with nice big pictures to go along with them. Which is what comics are after all.

Now this collection of comics go back to 1967. Being the nerd that I am I plan on reading all the ST:TOS comics followed by ST:TNG, ST:DS9, and then ST:VOY (sorry enterprise no soup for you). So right now I am knee deep in comics from the age of flower power and free love. The ads have been faithfully reproduced which give you an insight of how American culture was (pig skin suede shoes anyone?). It's frightening how we gleefully celebrated a brutal past (decedents of frontiersmen peddling BB guns to little boys or commemorative coins for the Hiroshima, Nagasaki atomic attacks).

Aside from those novelties I also don't like the writing of the earlier comics too much. The dialogue is out of character and the references to ST technology is incorrect (they're not radios!). Plus the drawings of the characters do not resemble the actors who portray them. It's hard to determine who is saying what. I only see a blue eyed blond haired macho man talking, I didn't realize that was suppose to be Scotty until much later. I know that this is just a temporary things and as I make my way down through the years the quality will definitely improve. I am looking forward to the movie adaptions that the comic book people came up with.

Of course my TV viewing suffers because of this. But hey it's worth it. I'll only drop out of FTL to watch my shows like SGU, Mythbusters and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. No more flipping channels for me I gotta get through literally hundreds of comics. I'll keep you posted on my findings!

So what should one drink to accompany this medley of geeky fun. Why water of course. I see too many of my fellow geeks wasting away their health drinking colas and other sugary sodas. Later on they complain about not feeling well. Gee, I wonder why that is? Water, especially mineral water is really good for your health. You quench your thirst without having to worry about getting diabetes. Drink it cool or at room temperature you will enjoy its refreshing goodness. My favorite brands are cheap and inexpensive and they always beat tap water hands down.

UPDATE: The comics from the 70's are lame. The writing is shotty. Don't get me wrong there are a few good ones. Which keep me coming back but overall I am dropping out of FTL more and more often as I lose interest. The comics from the mid 70's are picking up the slack as the drawing are more engaging and the storyline are much more complex. Why don't you skip ahead to the good ones you ask? Well I am to much of a stickler and prefer to take it on one comic at a time. I'll let you know if they get better.

“TODAY I AM A MUSLIM, TOO”

2011-02-27T17:32:00.003-05:00

“TODAY I AM A MUSLIM, TOO”

Dear Friends,

On behalf of a broad coalition of interfaith, nonprofit, governmental, and nongovernmental groups, we are writing to request your presence at a rally to be held Sunday, March 6th from 2PM, at 42nd Street and 7th Avenue, Times Square, New York City.

The March 6 rally is centered around the slogan “Today, I Am A Muslim Too”. Muslim and non-Muslim alike will stand together in solidarity, speaking out as a collective American voice. Concerned Americans will take a unified stance against a rising Islamophobia caused by anxiety, misinformation, and ignorance. Despite best efforts to engage and integrate into American society, certain leaders nonetheless, continue to see Muslims outside of the American family portrait. Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.) for example, will hold congressional hearings addressing “The Radicalization of Muslim communities in America”, with testimony solely focusing on the communities of Muslim community. Though the United States Constitution declares that all Americans should be treated equally and granted the freedom to practice their religion without prejudice, Congressman King’s forthcoming hearings challenge this notion by pronouncing that Muslims are not currently, nor are they capable of, being as equally American as members of other faiths or cultures. To date, hundreds of civil liberties groups and public figures have signed letters and spoken out opposing the hearings, including Faith in Public Life, the Jewish Theological Seminary, The Open Society, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, and the Center for Constitutional Rights. We uniformly declare an alternate position to this rhetoric, one that reaches across religious lines for all who seek to live in peace and brotherhood.

Russell Simmons, Rabbi Marc Schneier, Imam Shamsi Ali, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Rev. Bob Chase, Rev. Chloe Bryer, Rev. Katherine Henderson, Rabbi Burt Vitzosky, and UN Goodwill Ambassador Salman Ahmed of Junoon Music Band and other religious and community leaders are scheduled to speak. We hope to welcome you in joining us and making your voice heard, towards the increased harmony of our nation, and the embracing of our common humanity.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Please let us know if you able to join us and if we can use your organization’s name as supporters. We are glad to have relied upon your support and open minds in the past, and look forward to continuing our partnership in this upcoming show of support. Kindly reach out to your own network of organizations in support of this cause.

Sincerely,
Daisy Khan
Executive Director
American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA)
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 248
New York, NY 10115

© 2011 Rupee News.

Readers, I encourage you to go out and show your support. The current political climate becomes uglier day by day. This is nothing more than a modern day witch hunt or a resurgence of McCarthy era gestapo BS. The fact of the matter is that politicians stand to gain a lot (power, money) by pushing this toxic agenda. But it only chips away at the fabric of America. They can find fault with any group of people and soon we will find ourselves living in a police state. God knows if we have already reached that point.

Folks, they have lined up an all star cast. Imam Rauf needs no introduction (by the way his wife wrote the above letter). Salman Ahmad was featured on this blog in a previous post. Plus all other fine clergy who are rallying for the cause of equality and tolerance. Much love and peace to all!

UPDATE: This is the reason why we have to parade ourselves on the streets to prove that we are decent human beings who just what to get through our day just like anyone else. It certainly isn't fair and we shouldn't have to do this, but in the face of such bigotry how else can we get through to them?

A Look Behind the Scenes

2011-02-27T17:19:00.001-05:00

It's not easy maintaining a media empire, especially since you only get the weekends to do so. But on occasion you hit pay dirt. Like I did this past week. Check out the stats from my smashwords account:

How cool is that? I just wish they gave more info. Like who actually bought my book. I guess they can always contact me via email if they want to. Again thanks for the support! Also see what people are searching for, here's the latest from google analytics:

First of all I am not running a cooking school folks. This must have to do with some of my posts that detailed my cooking adventures. I only do that out of necessity because no one is here to cook for me, mainly MW. My other option is starvation. I did feature some paintings but they're not by world renowned artist Sadequain. And with the recent hooplah over IBM's new super computer, Watson, which was featured on the game show, Jeopardy as contestant I've been getting hits because of that. Although I am sure this post is setting off the web crawlers.

So that's the look from behind the scenes, until next time.

UPDATE: Hey! Hey! Hey! Look whose looking!

Nice to see I am being read outside of the US. Brazil has held the mantle of second place for the longest time but now Malaysia is narrowing the gap, Indonesia being the next ranking Muslim country. Which is pretty kewl. Of course maybe 2/3rds of the US hits is just me updated the site but hey whose counting. So keep it up you guys! France needs a leg up!

Must Watch!

2011-02-13T08:44:00.003-05:00

A friend sent me a link to the following documentary. It's a must watch video that explores the dangers of American Imperialism. Opponents will vehemently deny that there is such a thing even exists. But the truth of the matter is that ever since the conclusion of the second world war. The American Empire emerged and took center stage. Its first mission was to take care of its own "backyard" otherwise known as Latin America. You will learn just how they perfected their blueprint of overthrowing governments that served their people's interest to be replaced by stooges who would serve the national interest of the empire.

The commentator goes on to draw parallels between what happened back then to what is happening today. The so called war on terror is really a war on democracy. The mass media does a good job of keeping people insulated. Emphasizing the evil deeds of others while hiding or even denying atrocities committed by the super powerful. Has anyone even heard of Raymond Allen Davis?

Anyone who watches this should come away with a feeling of profound awareness. After this no one can believe that the US government wants true democracy for its people let alone for the people of other nations. If they do believe this they either stand to make a profit off of others misery or they are incredibly naive and actively refuse to learn the truth.

My only concern is why is the mass media getting cosy with the protesters in Cairo? I thought any time a Muslim fought for his freedom he was branded a terrorist? And why are they vilifying their main man Hosni Mubarak? Maybe he outlived his usefulness and another puppet is waiting in the shadows. Let's wait and see.

What's going on?

2011-02-06T17:14:00.002-05:00

Well for starters we have passed the 10,000 hit mark. Thanks you guys, for making it possible! So the corresponding net worth of the blog is now 100 pakistani rupees as indicated by the updated rupee/hit counter. How do you arrive to that conclusion? Well I read somewhere that every 100 hits that you get is like getting a penny. Using the current exchange rate that's like getting one ruppee. Ergo you have your answer.

People really liked the java applet that I put up. According to google analytics it was the most viewed page this past week! Which is awesome. It even garnered a new follower. From the looks of it she's a hardcore WoW player. Which is great since I want to attract as many gamers as I can. Expect more functionality in the applets in the coming months.

The blog now also ties into my linkedin profile. So every time I write a new post it will show up as new entry on my profile. Great way to generate traffic around these here parts, planning to do the same for my facebook profile. A lot going on guys. Lot's more responsibility at work, which is great, free high endurance mental workouts. Plus moving MW's immigration case along is a full time job. So yeah lot's of stuff to juggle. But no worries it build character. Besides I am going to blow off some steam by watching the superbowl, you should to, Go Packers!

Enjoy!

2011-01-30T14:34:00.008-05:00

DISCLAIMER: The applet can be tricky to run give it time to load and be sure to use firefox. From what I here the problem is with Alice, they plan on resolving it with the 3.0 release. Apparently it's hard to render a 3D environment in a teeny tiney applet, go figure.

Here's some DE wizardry I cooked up while fiddling with Alice. Revel in the interactive goodness.

I guess java based games always have a thing for penguins. This is no different. Think of this as my "Hello World". Of course people only take notice when you shout it loud from the roof tops. So expect more sophistication in the coming days.

And for the geeks out there who want to know about my thought process, they are welcome to read on after the jump.

Oh good! You're here. So I like to take an evolutionary approach when it comes to development. The plan is to first implement the game in Alice using three or four iterations. This will serve as a kind of formal specification which I can then map to full blown java instead of just a scripting derivative. Of course we can go bigger than that I am thinking OpenGL allowing for a full blown action adventure game. But then I will need to higher people. Which requires capital which requires a business plan. Let's see what we do when we come to that bridge...or something along those lines. Biggest concern for me would be maintaining my intellectual rights. Its my idea dammit! I want what's coming to me...good session man....later.

Escape from the Rock

2011-01-16T15:02:00.001-05:00

Nifty title, eh? Just imagine a framed man making a harrowing escape from an evil prison fortress. His only means of escape is a hijacked bi-plane. Don't think the above graphic is just some random image I shagged off of the internet. No sir. It's an original Sadiq lovingly crafted on my Inspiron 1525. This is actually a screen grab of my latest wizardry with the Alice scripting language. I am able to dedicate more time learning the language. The executable lets you actually pilot the plane. However the controls are bit screwy. Not worth the effort to work them out. All this is baby steps to something better...my game.

Would you buy it? I mean if I put it out there (the game that is) would you buy it? That would be awesome if you did. My dream would be to live off of my royalties so that I could quite my day job and immerse myself in my art. If you want me to immerse myself consider donating (check out the paypal button at the bottom of the page). At any rate I am glad you stopped by. Leave a comment, click a link, turn out the lights when your done.

The Good News Train

2011-01-02T15:08:00.002-05:00

What with all the bad news you hear these days we could all use some good news. I am doing my part by sharing some good news from my life. (you can live vicariously through me and feel good in the process!)

First up some good news from my public and or professional life. If you've been reading my blog you know that I am studying for my PMP exams. Just to let you know that I am not all talk but also walk the walk here is a shiny certificate saying that I am now a member of the PMI. Go ahead revel in its shininess:

Some good news for fans of my work I have submitted my stories to be considered for smash word's premium catalog. They responded in the affirmative so now you can find me on you Kindle as well.
My driver's license came in the mail a couple of days ago. It now sits in my wallet. It has top billing on the plastic card holder!
Saving the best news for last MW successfully passed her immigration interview. Which is awesome! Because we are that much closer to being reunited. Which is kind of important if you want to conduct a wedding ceremony. I'll have choice pictures from that happy occasion for you guys to oogle over. So be sure to drop by.

Phew that's it for me! Allah be praised for showering his blessings on me. I could impart some more good news but I was asked not to less I jinx myself. So what about you, how has God favored you? Do tell, don't worry you won't be jinxed.

UPDATE: Look what came in the mail!

This was given to me with thanks from the IEEE Computer Society Press. They are publishers of world renowned text books and other computer related material. I was part of the review committee of one of their upcoming publications. I've been sworn to secrecy so I want say anymore. But ain't cool just the same?

And oh yeah January 21 was my birthday so happy birthday to me! None of you guys did anything for my birthday but that's okay because I didn't do anything for your birthday either. But my mama (who I love very much) did do something for me on my big day. She sent me a gift plus a card which I reproduce for you below:

I can only show you the front cover the inside has personal messages from my little sister and mama. But hey this is great. I am nearing 30 and I love where my life is going. Go me!

email call!

2010-12-26T16:32:00.000-05:00

It's almost the end of the month. And I haven't gotten in my three posts yet. Fresh out of ideas (don't worry it's a temporary thing) so I'll let my friends entertain you. They are always sending me cool pics in the mail. Here are some good ones that showed up in my inbox. Enjoy!

Here's the caption that came with it:

Hyper Realistic Drawings

Although they look like real photos, they are just paintings created by different artists. The illusion of reality is so high that it is difficult to believe someone could draw this.

Look what came in the mail!

2010-12-19T19:21:00.005-05:00

I was coming home from work when I entered my apartment building. As per my routine I made a beeline to the mailboxes. I have to go all the way to the end because that's where the top story apartment's boxes are. I slid in my key and was hoping to find some important documents my lawyer was suppose to send me (which he didn't but that's another post) but instead I found this:

Isn't that nice? It's a greeting card from my employer. They are very nice people over there and I am lucky to be with them. That certainly made my day. I know I haven't been around here for awhile but I promise to do the minimum three posts per month thing. That's not a rule just something I challenge myself to accomplish.

Anyway I was fresh out of ideas when this card came along. What could be better than wishing each other Happy Holiday? So in the spirit of the season I am wishing all my readers a prosperous New Year and happy holidays (order doesn't matter, does it?). Of course for me This coming weekend will be just like any other. We don't get off Christmas eve so no long weekend. Plus in case you don't know I don't celebrate Christmas, boo am I Moslem.

But New Years gets me tingly something about learning to remember what year to write on my checks all over again seems like fun. We use the Gregorian calendar so much it's a shame we are not as adapt when it comes to the Islamic calendar. I couldn't name all the months if my life depended on it.

In other news I am still struggling to reunite with MW. We have come a long way in the immigration process but thanks to constant nit picking there is always something lacking. We always seem to be scrambling to find and assemble some kind of form or package of documents. When will this ever end? There has got to be a better way. Like teleport her over to our apartment. Then she could integrate into society and no one will be the wiser. "She just got in last night." I'll say if any one asks why they haven't seen her before. Sounds like a plan eh?

Speaking of challenges there is one I will be confronting tomorrow morning. No details about it just yet, less I want egg on my face which is no fun because its eggs...on your face.

So what arrived in the mail that cheered you up? Plus what are you holiday plans? Share with the class in the comment thread. Tata for now.

UPDATE: So what was the mysterious challenge that I didn't want to mention? Well it was my road test. You see when I was out of the country my license expired and by the time I came back it had already been more than two years. So the nice folks at the DMV told me that I had to start all over. So I did. I breezed through the written and got my permit fairly easily. Then came time for upgrading to the actual license.

Taking advice from elders, I decided to take classes first. I signed up with a nearby driving school. I took the five hour class which allowed me to schedule a road test appointment. I would be a month away. So in the meantime I was taking lessons every Saturday for about an hour. The first few lessons were kind of tense I hadn't been behind the wheel in NYC for awhile. But then it all came back to me. My instructor was very impressed and assured me that I would do fine.

On the day of the test I took off work and was in line waiting my turn. When the examiner climbed in with me we started the test. Going through the motions. I was doing okay, just a few minor mistakes like making a wrong turn (he said right i went left) not observing enough (I am a seasoned driver and didn't think it necessary to crane my neck like a chicken just to show my examiner I was checking my mirrors) and oh yeah my examiner was getting pissed at me for the minor mistakes....sooooo...not doing so well. The final nail in the proverbial coffin was when I had to turn left into a parking lot. On coming traffic was present but distant. I slowed down to turn but then hesitated coming to a complete stop. That's when he erupted "Come on man! There's no stop sign" So I braced my self and entered the opposite lane and quickly moved out of the way. The cars whizzed by without incident.

I pulled over and resigned myself to the impending verdict. "Sir, you need to take this test again." which was a nice way of saying you failed. My instructor went over what went wrong and scheduled another road test for me. Which was a month away. Joy. I had a month of anxiety to look forward to. I loss sleep over this folks. I needed my license to get to work, so that I could provide for my family. I watched you-tube videos showing what to expect during a road test. The SMOG (Signal, Mirrors, look Over shoulders, go) acronym put my worries at ease, plus Scan! Scan! Scan! is also a good tip (10 points for not observing folks, so every bit counts). They also explained that this was more about just driving skills but also a performance review. You had to perform for the examiner. It didn't matter if you had been driving for 10 years or 50 years if you didn't meet their expectations you weren't getting a license.

So taking that to heart I retook my exam this past Monday. I am happy to announce that I have been licensed to drive in the state of New York! Woot! Stay tuned for more good news in the coming days.

UPDATE2: Since this was a post about the holiday season it seems fitting place my new year wishes to my dear readers here. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We made it through another year, may this one be filled with joy and prosperity for us all, Ameen.

Follow the white rabbit

2010-11-25T15:21:00.001-05:00

The white rabbit was the first character Alice met when she was transported to wonderland. What followed afterward was a wondrous adventure. I like to think I have started my own adventure it even starts off with a white rabbit:

Pretty kewl, eh? I know it's not much. But I made that 8 seconds of animation with my own two hands (did you notice the Colbert reference?). I know I've been dropping hints about working on a video game and that I was going to keep you updated. Well this post goes towards that promise. In my last update I mentioned that I got a programming book for the Alice scripting language. Here's the cover in case you were wondering:

It's been sitting on my shelf since Eid-Ul-Fitr (I know I promised a post about Eid-Al-Adha but it was a typical day, went to prayers, chatted with family on the phone, and then went to dinner at my aunts) but I never got around to opening it and reading it. Mostly because I was catching up with CAPM studies (I fell behind because I had to work on the immigration case, but that's an entirely separate can of worms). Now that I am caught up I can spend some time on it. Last weekend I worked on the first chapter and came up with the above video. I was thinking of making another version of this video with a turkey in it, what with thanksgiving and all but decided against it (too much work).

I have the day off thanks to turkey day, nothing special planned (hey I can cook, but a 3 course meal, you got to be kidding me). I might spend some time with the book, learning new techniques with the scripting language. I hope I learn enough to get my ideas off the ground. I am planning to have more wicked cool content for you in the coming weeks so stay tuned.

UPDATE: Here's what I've been working on. Notice how I can make the characters do more sophisticated things. Revel in my genius!

My new toy...

2010-11-21T17:53:00.000-05:00

...it's one of these:

A Vizio 19 inch LED LCD HDTV (is that enough acronyms for you). I've been TVless for the pass four months. You may recall the beginning of my ordeal in this piece. At first I tried to get it repaired but found it would be cheaper to replace it. But I didn't want to be left with a hunk of useless electronics waste. I tried selling it for parts but no one would bite, they already had to many busted TVs by that company (go figure).

With the holy month of Ramadan approaching I decided it was for the best, no TV meant more time for worshiping. Afterward I turned to the internet to quench my thirst for entertainment. I must admit there is a wide selection out there and people can and have discontinued their cable service because of this. I was contemplating the same until the fall season kicked in. All these new shows, shows that I follow starting up again. I was missing out. Plus the movie on demand feature helped me save on DVDs yet still allow me to view the newest releases.

I was getting desperate I had to get a TV. I was hoping what with my new job I could easily by a $300 TV. But a funny thing happened I realized I had no money for food. So I had to set aside a nice chunk of change for groceries. The second month, which happened to be this month, was a bit more forgiving. One I had enough money for food so I could spend money on wants. What's more the seasonal deals like Black Friday were gearing up. I was advised this would be the best time to buy.

I must admit I was apprehensive about getting knocked down by fellow shoppers in search of a good deal during the mad rush that is Black Friday. But lucky for me stores slashed prices early on. Now was a good time to buy. But there was just this one problem. No car. I didn't want to buy such an expensive thing online. The delivery guy could miss me and leave by my door tempting the neighbors. I didn't want to bring it with me in the train, NYC, muggings, you get the picture. So I had to rely on my family to help me out. I was meeting my relatives for Eid (separate posts in the works) my cousin was going to pick me up so I tipped him off to the fact that I desired a new TV and would love it if he could take me to a Walmart to get one. He agreed.

So that night we made our way to a Walmart close by to his house. Dinner was ready and we had only a half hour before the proverbial dinner gong rang. We made a beeline to the electronics. An entire wall filled with LCD TVs of all sizes and brands. I got the least expensive one had them add on extended warranty. With a final check of my receipt we were out the door. That night when I got home I was so excited I immediately unpacked and hooked up the ultra slim picture maker. I stayed up that night, even though I had work in the morning, taking in all the sights. A smorgasbord of programming I had almost forgotten.

But I don't plan on stopping there. My little lady will be coming over soon (we are very close to the end of the immigration process!) I want her to be happy as possible and if her desi soap operas make her happy then I am inclined to provide those to her. The beauty of living in such a diverse city is that it caters to every whim. Just go to Jackson Heights and pick up a cleverly named electronic device that will do the trick for you. I plan on getting that for her with the gift money (Eidi) I have set aside for her. But before that can happen I wanted to treat my TV right and bought it a nice stand to raise it off of the heat emitting cable box. That way it will last longer and you know...not burn out.

Mosh the Vote

2010-11-07T18:09:00.005-05:00

I hoped you voted last Tuesday. I know there are many out there that think it is a waste of time. And that it doesn't make a difference. Or that it doesn't effect them and that the country will continue running without their vote. They may be right on many points. But that does not justify staying home and not voting. They should think what would happen if they did not have the right to vote? Or what would happen if there were no regular elections? Images of despotic third world countries should come to mind. I know my mind conjures up those images. In some cases even if they do have elections an atmosphere of intimidation and fear is created by the opposition. In that situation voting for the wrong party could cost you dearly.

But I would go even further and say that for citizens voting is not only a right it is a privilege. No matter how little, we the common man exert the tiniest bit of leverage over our leaders. Even this much leverage gives us power. The power to have our complaints listened to, the power of deciding where we want to go. This may not seem much compared to the kind of influence wielded by the elite. But imagine not having even this much power. To cower in the shadows, afraid of being pulled over, detained, deported.

I do not plan on cowering. I plan on standing up. Crying bloody hell! If there is an injustice I will call it an injustice. And if the perpetrators push back forcing me to call day, night and night, day then I will also push back with the truth. Fight for the truth and no man derived power on earth can stop you.

Two years ago we elected a presidential candidate on a wave of euphoria. We wanted change and we obtained it. The first black president, son of a Muslim man. Even four years ago that would have seem implausible. But it happened we persevered, we fought the odds and triumphed. What happened to that euphoria? It seems people expected miracles and when they got good governance and not supernatural feats they were disappointed.

Fickle is the word. Fickle expectations, fickle hope. And now the masses are going back into the very arms that screwed them over in the first place. Now I am not naive. I know the democrats are no different than the republicans when it comes to foreign policy. That is something set in stone. Where they do differ is domestic policy. They were doing something for the working class. Answer me this. Why is it okay to bust the budget with illegal wars (that maim and kill people) yet it is not okay to bust the budget with health care reform (something that can help heal people). As with any human endeavor it was not perfect. People should not be so fickle and should not expect miracles from their leaders. They should see them for who they are, men just like them struggling to do some good.

I sincerely hope the current president can go on for a second term. I know I will do my part in ensuring that and I hope you do the same.

I'll disclose my voting record, just so that I can get some of you to comment telling me why I made a bad choice ;) we'll try to be as civil as possible. And even if we do get nasty that doesn't mean we can't have our own election results jamboree...and the winners are (if my candidate won they will appear in green otherwise their red)

Governor: Andrew Cuomo

Senate: Charles E. Schumer (I do not like his track record with respect to "The War on Terror" he's to hawkish and seeks to induce fear to gain more power. I voted for Colia Clark a civil rights activist. That's the kind of person I want in office. That way when they have me step out of line at the airport I know who to write to)

Senate Special Election: Kirsten Gillibrand (She's the female equivalent of chuck schumer and also uses fear to get power. We don't like that, just ask Colbert. I voted for liberal Vivia Morgan instead)

House of Representatives(6th district): Meeks

Attorney General: Eric Schneiderman

Comptroller: Thomas DiNapoli

 *source The New York Times 

I don't care much about the position of State Comptroller I voted for the accountant person as that makes the most sense for that kind of work but I don't really care who wins. I voted Cuomo because of his dad and Schneiderman because those two go together. So that's that full disclosure, if you will.

Now for some tunes to chill out. A certain rap star sums up my sentiments on why I vote perfectly.

Cooking up a storm

2010-10-24T17:29:00.001-04:00

This weekend had me cooking up a storm. I kicked things off by heading down to the local C-Town. The owner is Palestinian and he hired mostly Bengali girls to man the cash registers (who says Muslim Unity can't happen?) Since he's the owner he has some leeway in his neck of the woods that's why he offers up halal delicacies like rotisserie chicken, ground beef, steaks, chicken and deli meats. Believe you me as a Hanafi I can really appreciate what this brother is offering. I decided to get some marinated chicken I could slice it up and use it as filling for my sandwiches, which I can easily stuff into my bag and take to work. I also loaded up on ground beef and got an Ortega Taco Dinner Kit.

After slicing up the chicken (which was fall off the bone perfection) I fixed myself a sandwich just to see what was in store for me. Pretty good if I do say so myself. Then I started working on the tacos. Nothing says prosperity more than a skillet full of meat. I can thank my new found job for that. It's been really rough but everyone has been real supportive. Something that I am very grateful for. The only thing that I can really complain about is the location. They're out in Long Island and I am in the city. With no car to speak of I am at the mercy of public transportation to get me to and from work. Which sucks because it costs a fortune. Luckily a co-worker is nice enough to pick me up and drop me off. Living in the same neighborhood helps.

But at any rate I don't like to burden others with my problems. That's why I am working on getting my driving license. I had one when i turned 18 but we left NY for good soon after. Upon my return I learned that since my license was expired for over 2 years I had to start the process all over again. It was like being in high School again as I poured over the driver manual. I briefly answered some sample questions and then went in to Jamaica's DMV.

Even if you get there early there will be a line wrapped around the block. That's because the building also houses workman's comp and a city run temp agency. So as people file in they filter off to various sections. I follow the DMV crowd which further breaks down as we reach the various queues inside the office. I got my picture taken (grizzly as usual) and then I went in to take the test. I nailed it the first time around, it mostly asked about alcohol consumption. Lucky for me the sample questions I answered were also on the test so go me!

Several weeks later with permit in hand I went to a nearby driving school and signed up for lessons. This Saturday was the first one. I came early to take the 5hr class and then went for a ride with the instructor. He was a friendly guy and bought me some tea (yes they are all desi). He was very knowledgeable and helped fine tune my skills. Hopefully I'll nail the road test when the time comes. Now all I have to do is save up for a car.

And that's how you cook up a storm.

UPDATE: Just to keep you posted about my shopping habits. I bought a bag of candy for trick or treaters. No one came yet, oh well, more for me! That's why you should by candy you like so that you can finish it. Otherwise it will get old and moldy and you have to throw it out. speaking of old and moldy i finally opened an old spice deodorant my late father gave me several years ago. It still smells fine and rolls on easily. So i use it but keep a close eye on my pits as they are very sensitive.

The secret is out

2010-10-10T20:38:00.019-04:00

Remember I told you about a secret project I was working on? No...it's in the previous posts...I mentioned it briefly...you don't read my posts...you suck!

lol! That's my dry sense of humor at work. I've been working all afternoon and now its nighttime. You can probably see the fruits of my labor here and there. The rupee counter has been updated, I got rid of Colbert's medal, i put a post about my stats. The medal had to go because it was too cryptic for people to get. Not good when you want them to find you and fork over their money. That's why you'll notice the sidebar now has a proper image leading to my smashword profile.

So what's so special about my SW profile, you ask. Well it will soon be receiving a new addition. My secret project or should I say unsecret project (har, har har) will be making its debut there (I am #159 on queue). If you can't wait that long you can find a copy on my website. What copy? What queue? Make sense man! Oh that's right I didn't tell you what the project was. Well here is a quote from the site, it says it best:

SadiSoft to the Rescue: When word was put out that original Islamic stories were needed. The creative talent (mainly me) at SadiSoft went into  action. After a week of getting up early (can't lose the day job now  can we) and hitting the keyboard I give you the fruits of my labor. Read it here, it's my hope that after enjoying it you will do good.

Hope that clears things up. I'll be updating the post when, god willing, smashwords okays my word doc. As always I encourage you to support my efforts. If you are a like minded individual consider making a donation or buying one of my books. Take care for now.

UPDATE: It's up! Go buy a copy.

Smashword Link

UPDATE 2: Well a week has gone by no word from Apex yet, about 20 of you downloaded a sample of AOD all though no one bought a copy...yet. Figured I drum up some support. Plus I don't need much of an excuse to use the jump feature. Something I've been trying to figure out for the longest time.

At any rate after the jump you can see some more gloomy pictures I get of off the interweeb (hey why hire a graphic designer? Besides I don't have the money, this is a one man show for crying out loud!) That I was seriously considering. See what could have been.

For your viewing pleasure I collected some rather interesting bits of art. First off is the actual covered used. Again I got the pic off of the internet and then added my own touch to it using Macromedia Flash, take a gander now:

The following pics were runner ups, selected out of literally hundreds of possibilities:

Feel free to let me know which one you would have picked (if you were me which would be kinda weird) in the comments. Although I would have probably converted the orageny flamey pic to grayscale. Just let you know...you know?

I Seeeee You!

2010-10-10T14:08:00.012-04:00

Lurkers! Lurkers! Lurkers, I know you're out there! I can see you with my magical powers, also known as google analytics here's what I dug up:

Apparently I am getting traction in South America, especially Brazil which is awesome. Brazilians are so cool. Some interesting keywords have been sending traffic my way. At number 4 we have people who want to know what hupshi means, it means African in Urdu so there you go. Still at number one we have people inquiring about religious hierarchies in Islam. For the life of me I don't know why that has been the number one keyword for the entire year.

Well if you must know there are no religious hierarchies in Islam. We are all equal in the eyes of the lord it is only our good deeds and piety that sets us apart. Also if you are thinking we have some kind of churchlike setup you're wrong. We only require an Imam to lead prayers and a Muezzin to call the Azan. Other than that we have scholars who study the Quran and Hadiths and offer guidance to the masses. Who you choose to listen to largely depends on your outlook on life and your cultural upbringing. Hope that settles it. Next?

Also don't be a stranger decloak and leave a comment, that way i get to know you better.
Check out the rupee/hit counter. Keep the hits coming, we are nearing a dollar!
Lastly we got a new follower, welcome to the crew take your shoes off and grab a seat!

PS: Can you tell I turned on the "Blogger in draft" feature now I have a richer interface to work with. Who needs fat client software when we are all working the cloud?

UPDATE: I am not kidding about Brazil, revel in the awesomeness:

Oh and while I was digging in the back end I found people were mystified by the blog title. 786 represents bismillah the blessing Muslims say before starting any activity, especially eating. It means "In the name of God" so I hope that clears up the mystery. Also folks help me welcome another follower (i wish blogger would stop using that word makes me feel all weird and prophetic) and I'll be updating the rupee counter soon. Tata for now.

UPDATE 2: Wow a new follower every week? Awesome! Plus a hundred hits per week? teh awesomeness knows no bounds!

The recession is over!

2010-09-26T16:54:00.009-04:00

Well at least my personal recession is. That's because I got a job. A better paying job mind you. No more working at my uncle's pharmacy now I get to work at a real life honest to goodness software house. I got the job through personal contacts. job boards and recruiters were pure bunk in this case. plus reading up on trends in the market was also pure bunk because everyone knows about it so everyone is going to capitalize on it leaving you in the lurch.

Now I get to polish my career finally getting a chance to break into the US market. It's the same as moving up from the minor leagues to the major leagues. very exciting i start Monday wish me luck. oh and my linkedin page will be updated accordingly. hey what's a blog if you can't shamelessly promote yourself? on that note i am working on a secret project more word on that as soon as details are available.

UPDATE: You see...i did what i said and i said what i did:

I even added a nifty snapshot of myself. this way there is a face for my profile and viewers will realize that i am an actual person and not just a random profile. i think that's why linkedin has that option in the first place. so this was my first week at my new job. pretty cool really nice people. i am only training right now and hope to be able to provide tech support soon. i could share some juicy office gossip but that would be a breach of trust. you wouldn't want me to breach my employer's trust now would you?...would you?!

UPDATE 2: Whatever I did it seems to be working because not only was I confirmed after my three month probationary period I was also promoted. I am no longer taking calls (something I didn't like very much) I know get to use my education and raw talent to do something I really enjoy. My updated profile tells all:

Click Me!

This is so unlike the time when I worked at company (which shall remain un-named [but they know who they are and should be ashamed of the way they treated me] because I do not want to embarrass them) and got no confirmation after the three month period but they kept egging me on for two more months hoping I would quit. At last they asked for my resignation which I gladly gave.

But that's in the past I am stronger because of that and emotionally I am in a better place. So yeah this is great I even got a bigger desk, which is awesome. Of course this is not my doing all thanks goes to God. We are taught to be thankful for every bit of blessing and favor we receive. And Allah will reward our gratefulness with more of what we showed gratitude for. So yeah very grateful that I landed on my feet after my father's untimely death. Not only that I moved up the economic ladder. From lowly stock boy at my uncle's pharmacy to technical writer for PMS software. And all within a short span of time. which makes this doubly awesome.

Eid Greetings

2010-09-21T21:51:00.003-04:00

I want to take this opportunity to extend my heartiest good wishes to all my readers on a successful end to the blessed month of Ramadan. If you fasted your joy is doubled not only do you have the pleasure of meeting your brothers in sister with good cheer you also have the pleasure of resuming your normal eating habits. Hopefully you won’t overdo it and make yourself sick!

Like always Eid was unique this year. Each year the date goes back by about 10 days. That way there is no fixed season for the holiday as we follow the lunar calendar. Before Ramadan had started we were already calculating when the festival would be. Crunching the numbers we all came to the same conclusion it would fall on or around September 11.

With the mosque controversy, Gainesville and a general air of Islamophobia we did not want to give the haters another excuse to mock and ridicule us. We could only hope our community leaders could guide us to an amicable solution. One of the biggest problem we face as a people is the moon sighting. Typically the Arab brothers call it a day early while the Desi brothers call it a day late. Meaning the Arabs start fasting a day earlier while the Desis start fasting a day later.

This is just one of the silly things we do which is a cause of disunity. Naturally since there are two different starting points we get two different ending points to the month of Ramadan or Eid. Therefore our communities celebrate the festival on two different days and never as one. That changed this year. Everyone realized we couldn’t be seen celebrating for whatever reason on 9/11. It was a day of mourning and should be respected as such.

One ending point was September 10 while the other was September 11. Both ending points were valid and from a religious standpoint both were permissible. People would have been well within their rights to celebrate on 9/11, but we didn’t. In an unprecedented move the second date was dropped and the entire community celebrated on September 10. For once we were united as a people.

So that’s the story in a larger context. But what about me personally? Well that’s a different story. My family and I began anticipating the end of Ramadan during the last 10 days of the holy month. My mom called me at work telling me about how she bought a new pair of shalwar kameez for me. Plus the munchkins (my two little nephews) were hand crafting Eid cards for me. She was about to FedEx it to me when I asked her to include a DVD of my engagement. I left the movie behind and have been regretting the decision ever since. My mom said she would be sure to include it and send it over, I should have it within a week.

Lo’ and behold I did receive said package. I couldn’t wait to get home that day and open it up. The first thing that caught my eyes were the cute little cards my nephews had made. Scanned and reproduced here for your viewing pleasure:

The first one is by the youngest Bilal while the second one is by the oldest Hammad. I love being a maternal uncle (mamoo) to them. Gets me ready for when I have kids of my own. The outfit my mom had picked out for me was in good taste and suited my youthful yet refined taste. But my favorest gift of all was the DVD, I popped it in my laptop with eager anticipation. I dimmed the lights and my LCD came to life with the sounds and colors of two years ago. When MW and I promised to marry each other one day. I tell you my heart ached after watching that I looked around my empty apartment and didn’t see anyone, let alone the love of my life.

I mustered on through the week and before you knew it, the end was upon us. Prayer service was at a local mosque we all congregated in a multi storey prayer hall. Black, white, old, young it didn’t matter we were all there to glorify our lord. Afterwards we all embraced each other congratulating each other on a job well done. I returned home and got a call from MW. That was real special we talked for a long time. I gathered the nerve to say “I love you” our last exchange had her professing her love to me with me replying “um..okay” sheesh talk about awkward!

It was a Friday so I went for mid-day prayers which had me meeting more friends and more hugging. The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home. Kinda bland but hey what are you going to do? The next day my uncle invited me over for dinner. Which was nice. And that was that. A very modest celebration if I do say so myself, something very typical of Muslim celebrations. Hopefully next year MW and I can celebrate together in our own home. That would be a dream come true for both of us.

Status Report...

2010-09-20T14:06:00.006-04:00

This is your faithful ensign reporting. I know I haven't checked in for awhile but I can explain I had other things to do and didn't feel like making a report. I know I have failed you, oh gentle reader but I assure you I will have more to report in the coming days.

One of the things I wanted to talk about was the end of Ramadan and the Eid Festival. I've been meaning to blog about that for some time and I have some really cute content to go along with it. So yeah that'll be coming up soon.

Right now I just wanted to let you know about how my project is going. Like I've mentioned before I am working on a video game based on the fictional universe I created in my stories. I'll let you play a couple of levels for free online once I've made them. This would be my second attempt at digital entertainment. The first time was for my final year project which was required for getting a degree.

WARNING GEEK SPEAK AHEAD
I used a scripting language that freed me from dealing directly with machine language. Some guys like to get their hands dirty and work at the bit level. They usually opt for Direct X because it let's them better manipulate bit data. But that becomes complex real fast. My thinking is that I want my ideas on screen ASAP.

So when I decided to program my own game I figured I should stick with a scripting language. The one I used on my project was called Jamagic. This was five years ago and since then the language has been discontinued and is no longer supported by the vendor. That's another hazard about the IT field skills you acquired only a few years ago are subject to become obsolete simply at the whim of the market. An entity dedicated to consumerism and promoting a throw away culture. How can anyone appreciate the hardwork and craft of engineers in an environment like this? But I digress.

So what's a geek to do? I considered the Java language. A computer language that I am enamored with. What's more it has the graphic capability to produce some really first rate video games. However it can get really complex really fast. Game programming books for Java are no less than 1,000 pages! You have to remember that this is just a weekend project something to let me feel my oats and keep in touch with programming. (professionaly I am shooting for a CAPM cert, but that's another post).

So staying within the Java language I heard about the great work going on at Carnegie Mellon. They came up with a scripting language that allows for animation. The logical application of which would be digital movies and games. What's more the IDE is free. I was hooked and took to it eagerly. After exhausting online tutorials I still wasn't clear on a lot of issues that were required to be known before I could develop an actual game. So I got myself a book on the topic. I bought it off of amazon and it came two weeks later. (yes I opted for the cheapest shipping they had, hey we all got save money some how)

In the coming weeks I hope to do some realy neat things with it. I'll let you know what wizardy I've been up to...so stay tuned. Ensign out!

My Tribe!

2010-09-14T12:48:00.007-04:00

It's so hard to find people who actually appreciate religion these days. It seems everywhere you look traditional values are being attacked. It's sad to see the natural order of things being usurped for feeding man's petty lust. That's why it's always refreshing to find like minded individuals. But in this case I think the demographics are spot on. Enjoy these stories from a sub-genre that is dear to my heart...

The Maker Myth
By Ahmed A. Khan

This short science fiction story comes as part of IslamOnline.net's invitation to writers from around the world to contribute with their own work in this field. Read more about the initiative and guidelines here.

It was with great anticipation that people packed the convention hall. Such was the popularity of the guest speaker of the day. There was an air of high expectation all around. The great Mr Arten was coming here, and he was going to deliver a talk on the origin of life. It was bound to be interesting as he had been working on this subject fruitfully for several years.
The buzz in the hall suddenly died. The great person had arrived. The audience rose to give him a standing ovation. He bowed and took his seat with great dignity.
First, there were a few speeches by the organizers about the guest speaker, his life and work, his extraordinary contribution to science, in particular his discoveries about the ever-interesting, ever-mystifying subject of the origin of life. The audience fidgeted and murmured, waiting for all these speeches to end and for the great scientist and philosopher to take up the microphone.
Finally, the moment arrived. With ponderous steps, Mr Arten mounted the podium. He cast a grave glance at the packed hall. A hush fell over the audience.
And then he began speaking. His voice was sonorous, his delivery clear. He exuded an aura of supreme self-confidence.
He spoke thus:
Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to prove the creationists wrong.
Let us go about it logically.
What are the arguments that the creationists put forward? The primary one concerns the chain of cause and effect - the argument that the existence of a thing points to the existence of its maker.
Why should this reasoning be true? I agree that we have yet to discover any causeless effect, but does it mean that it does not exist, never did exist and will never exist in the future? As you can see, this line of argument leads us into a labyrinth of philosophical concepts, without helping us reach any conclusive result. All we can concede is that creationist view is nothing more than a mere hypothesis.
I want to present the counter hypothesis that causality does break down at some level of existence, and at that point, a thing can come into existence spontaneously. There doesn't always have to be a maker.
The second argument that the creationists put forward is this: strange objects, pictures and signs have been unearthed which point to the existence, at some time in the very remote past, of the Maker. They believe that at one time, much before our existence, the Maker lived on earth. He created us in order to serve him. But later, something befell the Maker and he vanished from the earth, leaving only vague traces.
Now, this is an interesting argument. I see that my esteemed opponent Mr Defore is in the audience. I am sure he can provide you with more details about these so called signs of the Maker. However, it was to these very signs that I have applied myself for the past decade. My research has been gathered in a book called "The Maker Myth", which is now undergoing publication. I urge you all to read this book when it comes out. I promise that you will find it interesting and stimulating. In this book, I have taken the alleged signs of the Maker and have postulated possible rational causes for each and every one of them, proving that these signs do not necessarily point to the Maker.
So then, if there is no Maker, how did we come into existence? This is the question that I am going to answer now. Listen carefully to the following scenario and see how rational, how intellectually satisfying it is.
In the beginning there was a timeless singularity. This singularity exploded in a big bang and gave birth to two things, matter and energy. The existence of matter and energy resulted in the simultaneous existence of time. The world progressed. Chaos settled into order. The matter, influenced by energy, formed various ordered elements, substances, planets, suns, and so on. One of the planets thus formed was earth.
On earth, several random combinations of elements took place and several substances were formed. One of these substances was also the substance of our bodies. This substance, when formed, had no coherent shape. Then, with the passing of eons and the continuation of random combinations, once again order resulted from chaos and some of the substances arranged themselves into an orderly shape - the shape of our bodies. The substance was of course, lifeless. It probably lay lifeless for several more eons until, on pure chance, a bolt of lightning hit it. Electricity coursed through it, and this electricity did strange things to it. It gave sentience and motion to the substance.
That was the first being, the father of us all. Once he became alive, he took control of what so far had been a random process. He began gathering and giving shape to the substances. He discovered how to create electricity and he also discovered other sources of power. With these power sources, he gave life to the images he had assembled. In short, he created more beings like himself, who then helped him to create still more, till the world was populated by our like.
That is my hypothesis about our origin. Tell me honestly. Isn't it a beauty? And where does the so-called Maker come into it?
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I firmly believe that us robots came into being by ourselves as I have described, and the myth of Man, the Maker, is just that - a myth.

Ahmed A. Khan is a Canadian science fiction writer who has published numerous stories in the science fiction genre. He has also edited three anthologies: "Fall and Rise", a post-apocalyptic science fiction anthology; "Science Fiction Waxes Philosophical", a collection of science fiction stories with philosophical underpinnings; and "A Mosque Among the Stars", containing science fiction stories informed by Islam. He maintains a blog here.

The Pre-sonic Man
By Ahmed A. Khan

This short science fiction story comes as part of IslamOnline.net's invitation to writers from around the world to contribute with their own work in this field. Read more about the initiative and guidelines here.

What would you have done if you were in my shoes?
It happened suddenly. One night, I had gone to sleep, a normal man. The next morning I got up as a thoroughly abnormal individual.
At that time, I was a moderately well-to-do writer. I had no living relatives and lived alone in my apartment.
That morning, I switched on the TV. A cartoon was being shown but the sound I heard was not the sound of a cartoon but of news being read. Was something wrong with the TV?
Had two channels somehow got mixed up? Then I heard the news reader announce the date. I sat bolt-upright. How could it be the 25th of May, today? Yesterday, when I had gone to sleep, it had been the 20th. What was going on? Had I slept for four days – a modern day Rip Van Winkle? I ran outside, picked up the newspaper lying on my doorstep and looked at the date. Twenty first of May.
So, I had not slept for four days, after all.
That was just the beginning. That whole day, I kept hearing voices: Voices of my friends, my neighbors, the voice of my sweet heart, and my own voice. What was going on? Was I going mad? But there was no insanity in the voices I heard.
I thought hard, struggling against a rising sense of panic. Slowly, almost shyly, a tiny idea raised its head. I had a hypothesis. It was fantastic. Nevertheless, I decided to test it.
Next morning, I switched on the television. Once again, the picture on the tube didn't match the sound. I heard the date being announced, and it was the twenty sixth of May. Hypothesis proved!
No matter how fantastic, it was probably true. My sense of hearing had extended four days and a couple of hours into the future.

First, I went into panic. Then, recovering, I quietly sat at my writing table for hours, mentally working out the ramifications of my condition. There were various things, big and small, to take care of. For instance, if someone rang the doorbell, I wouldn’t hear it. I had to have some kind of visual indication for it. Then there was the phone.
This was one instrument that would become almost totally useless to me. And what about conversation with people? I could talk to them and they would hear me but when they talked, I would have heard it four days ago. How then to have a coherent conversation? The only solution was to tell everyone that I had gone totally deaf. Let them communicate with me via writing or sign language.
And life went on with all its strangeness.
My pre-sonic condition had its advantages. I made it a habit of hearing the business news bulletins on the TV, and armed with advance knowledge of the market, I started playing the stocks. Inevitably my income became healthier and healthier. In turn, I became quite a philanthropist and had no end of fun.
No one knew about my abnormality till I heard myself telling my sweetheart about it and didn’t hear her scream or panic. So four days later, I did tell her about it and she, after a brief adjustment period, accepted it and said so in writing.
And one day, I wrote a note to her, asking her to marry me. She accepted and soon we became man and wife and lived happily for quite some time...
...till the time – yesterday - that I heard my wife crying with grief. And this grief was over my death.
I immediately got busy straightening out my things, preparing my will, loving and cherishing my wife.
Today, I heard my friends come to bury me.
And then my world went dead silent for some time.
And then I heard a terrible voice say: "Who is your God?"
And now I have three days to find the correct answer to that question.

Ahmed A. Khan is a Canadian science fiction writer who has published numerous stories in the science fiction genre. He has also edited three anthologies: "Fall and Rise", a post-apocalyptic science fiction anthology; "Science Fiction Waxes Philosophical", a collection of science fiction stories with philosophical underpinnings; and "A Mosque Among the Stars", containing science fiction stories informed by Islam. He maintains a blog here.

Pump up the Love

2010-08-22T05:09:00.005-04:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Municipal Land-Use Update - Ground Zero Mosque

http://www.thedailyshow.com/

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

And now my turn. A couple months ago I was asked by a friend for my opinion about a mosque being built at ground zero. At the time I knew nothing about the matter and declined to comment, citing a need to research the issue before forming an opinion. True to my word I did read up on the issue listening to both sides and forming my own conclusions. Now admittedly I am biased. I pray regularly and join the congregation on Fridays. Also I know all too well what it feels like to pray in an overcrowded mosque. Mashallah there are so many worshippers we literally have to pray on the backs of the brothers in front of us!

The only logical thing to do in this case is to expand and build more floor space to accommodate the faithful. Which is why I find the opposition’s arguments completely absurd. “A terrorist command center” “A shrine to their victory” “turning Manhattan into a Mecca” “A place to dance on our graves” the litany of unfounded accusations go on and on. My question is this, where are they getting their information about Islam and Muslims? It certainly isn’t from the horse’s mouth more like the rear end.

Time and again we have made it clear that Islam does not allow for the killing of innocents and places a high value on human life. Also our leaders have issued countless statements sympathizing with the victims of 9/11, 300 of which were Muslims. But all of this is lost in the ether; pundits distort the facts and spew out hate filled garbage which is eaten up by their listeners. It is nearly impossible to get through to them as they refuse to hear anything else. They have in fact chosen to fear all except fear itself.

The fact of the matter is that the proposed cultural center is addressing a basic need of the community in that area. The organizers are more than happy to welcome members of all faiths and all walks of life into their doors. Think of all the good that would do. Taking kids off the street and giving them something productive to do (before you post an absurd response bear in mind I am referring to extracurricular activities). A place for the Abrahamic faiths to congregate and learn from each other's wisdom. And yes a place for Muslims to bow down before their lord and sustainer.

I’ve seen similar community centers acting as safe havens for troubled teens, a means for building bridges between communities a place to come together with love and brotherhood. They'll call me an idealist but all in all it sounds pretty wonderful to me. I would be happy to go down there and pay a visit when it’s done. You are welcome to join me. Peace.

UPDATE: This is a reminder to all NYS residents, the primaries are this Tuesday (Sept. 14, 2010) go out and vote. Send congress and the office of Governor a clear message. We will no longer tolerate an atmosphere of anxiety, we want peace with our neighbors and amongst our communities. No more policies of fear mongering. We will not be cowed into giving up our freedoms for a false sense of security. We want to treat our fellow man with compassion and justice. I want each and every registered voter to vote their conscience.

It should be obvious how the entities supporting war are the same entities who support making the rich, richer. Who support taking from the poor, working and middle class to further misguided attacks on innocent civilians. Their unwise policies have brought this country to near financial ruin and has made it that much insecure. I can't make up your mind for you only you know who you will vote for. But since you are an "I Don't Know" reader you are interested in my opinion.

If you happen to live in the 15th congressional district and are a registered Democrat. May I suggest a worthy candidate for your consideration? His name is Jonathan Tasini I had the pleasure of meeting him at my local mosque. He's a friend of the Muslim Community. And has a deep respect for Islam. He was in attendance during the Khutbah. Afterwards he had kind words to say about the sermon and the Imam. His choice of words were spot on. Greeting us with salam and calling us brohters and sisters, that is something to his credit. Furthermore he and his staff appeared very cordial and answered my questions in a respectful and polite manner. I was very pleased that day.

However I couldn't expect anything less, I attend Friday Prayers at the 96th street Mosque. The imam there is politically savvy and often invites Government Officials to speak on Issues concerning the Muslim Community. Previously we had NYC Comptroller John C. Liu speaking about how the office of the Mayor fully backs building of the Community Center in Downtown Manhattan. And that bigotry will not be tolerated. This certainly helps ease anxiety felt by Muslims, who just want to go about their lives and do not want to be thrust into a vicious political power play. So if Tasini is good enough for my Mosque he's good enough for me and this site fully endorses him as a public servant.

And if anyone asks you can say that this guy sent you...

Raising Awareness for a Worthy Cause

2010-08-14T17:16:00.005-04:00

Widespread media coverage has already made it known to the international community that Pakistan is suffering at the hands of Mother Nature. I am afraid the situation is very desperate. The two Northern provinces, one considered to be the bread basket of the nation, have been devastated. Not to mention the long suffering region of Kashmir. The economy has been ruined, water borne disease is rampant and now the engorged banks of the Indus threaten a third province.

At times like these we realize our place in the great human family, of which we are all part of. Whatever aid reaches flood victims, it will not be enough. That’s why no matter the aid group no matter the charity we need to help. The images and stories coming through are heartbreaking. Any being with a beating heart can feel and identify with the victims.

Their sorrows are doubled when we realize that on this day 63 years ago a significant portion of the Muslims of the subcontinent gained not only freedom from imperial rule but a homeland of their own. Each year this event is celebrated as Independence Day. A day on which we reflect on the meaning and purpose of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the sacrifices we made as a people to attain our dear homeland. Sadly with the nation gripped in a crisis of biblical proportions the people do not have the luxury to reflect let alone celebrate.

The following images will show the brave javan of the Pakistan army coming to the aid of their countrymen, in their hour of need. They are duty bound to serve and protect the very people who adore and support them the most. Without the people of Pakistan there literally can be no Pakistan army.

What is unjust is that due to a new threat of neo-colonialism not only is the purpose and meaning of an Islamic Republic being lost it is being actively attacked. As resources are diverted from the frontlines the neo-cons clamor for more bloodshed. They cannot stand to see participants leaving their staged fight to rescue measly villagers. Their inhumanity is jarring, there can be no doubt their souls are lost and their hearts are stone. These are interesting times indeed may God show mercy on each sublime creation.

Heart Renching photos after the jump

In this handout photograph released by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Department (KPID) on July 30, 2010, an aerial view taken from a helicopter shows houses marooned in flash floods caused by heavy monsoon rains in the flood-hit Nowshera district. AFP/ Getty Images /
An aerial view shows Nowshera city submerged in flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan on Friday, July 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

An aerial view of a man and his animals surrounded by floodwater in Taunsa near Multan, Pakistan, flooded on Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)

Pakistani flood survivors line up beside a damaged bridge in Medain, a town of Swat Valley on August 2, 2010. (A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images)

Residents watch water pour through a street on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan on July 28, 2010. (A Majeed/AFP/Getty Images)

Villagers try to catch trees floating in the flooded Nelum river in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir on Friday, July 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Aftab Ahmed)

An aerial view of floodwater covering the land as far as the eye can see, around Taunsa near Multan, Pakistan, Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)

Residents watch from a nearby hill as army helicopters rescued trapped residents from Nowshera, Pakistan on July 31, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)

A Pakistan army helicopter evacuates stranded villagers in Nowshera, Pakistan on Friday, July 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

A woman yells as her child is evacuated from the roof of a mosque where residents were taking refuge from flood waters in Sanawa, Pakistan on August 5, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer)

Nimra, a three-year-old girl, who was rescued along with her family from Kaalam in the northern area, kisses the window glass of an army helicopter after their arrival at Khuazakhela in Swat district located in Pakistan's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province on August 1, 2010. (REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood)

A family being rescued by army soldiers passes a cargo truck with men on top taking shelter from heavy floods in Nowshera, Pakistan on July 31, 2010. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)

Pakistan army soldiers pass a baby across a channel in the floodwater as they help people flee from their flooded village following heavy monsoon rains in Taunsa, Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)

Pakistani army soldiers help an elderly villager evacuated from flooded area in Nowshera, Pakistan on Friday, July 30, 2010. AP / Mohammad Sajjad

A Pakistani boy named Jeeshan stands outside his tent in a camp set up by the Pakistani army inside a college on the outskirts of Nowshera on August 2, 2010. (BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images)

Oh hi...I am an Indie author

2010-08-11T20:30:00.004-04:00

I've been trying to get my specially formatted manuscript up loaded to smashwords. But there site was giving me trouble for the past few days. After worrying about my computer having a virus and running the site on other PCs it finally decided to behave. Once I filled in the publishing information the word doc was placed in a queue for conversions into various format. My spot? #193. I was definitely not going to stay up for this and went to bed. I got up early for sahiri then went back to sleep. When I got up to go to work I checked in with the site and this is what my profile said:

My short story and debut novel are up alongside their glorious covers specially minted for this release. This was pleasant enough but when I logged in a took a look at my account it turned out that I had sold a copy overnight! Woot! My first sale! It's official I am a full fledged author I suppose I should be eccentric and aloof now...oh wait I already am! Perfect! To the anonymous fan who bought my book. I hope you have a thoroughly entertaining time reading it. I put my heart and soul into and wish to do more.

But we can't put all that burden on one poor soul, help a brother out! Go to smashwords and buy my e-books. A hand dandy graphical link is the sidebar, just look for the "Colbert Nation" Medallion. In the meantime I'll keep on churning out the goods you keep on churning out the greens.

Of Man Made and Natural Disasters

2010-08-03T22:05:00.005-04:00

My soul descended from the heavens and when its preordained time has transpired it will return to the heavens. In the meantime it spends its days on earth encased in a mortal shell of flesh and blood. A shell that breathes and sleeps that feels pain and sorrow joy and love. Distinctively shaped it has a beating heart arms and limbs, eyes that take in the beauty and horrors of this world. Observers would say that these are the characteristics of a human being. I couldn’t agree more therefore I am but a man.

However I belong to a complex species. It is not enough to be human we also need a race to belong to. These same observers would look upon the color of my skin, my hair even my eyes and classify me accordingly. Then they would ask me about my beliefs and anoint a belief system upon me. Finally they would look upon documents issued upon my birth to determine my nationality. Therefore I am many things. South Asian, Muslim, American and so begins a brutal juggling act.

Many humans would fall into these classifications. But how they would respond to stimuli brought forth from world events depends on what they give priority to. For me being a good Muslim holds the most weight. I belong to the Ummah, the Nation of Islam comprised of many ethnicities. Among them Pacific Islander, African, Middle Eastern, European, South Asian, Asian, Central Asian, to name just a few. Each has formed its own nation state its people pay homage to the Ummah in one way or another. I love each nation as if it were my own. And on many occasions expressed my love to brothers and sisters from Algeria, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Qattar, UAE, Saudia Arabia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Malaysia. I hope to meet beloved brothers and sisters from all remaining nations.

However when it comes to familiarity I would have to say I am most familiar with the nation state of Pakistan. My parents instilled in me a love for that country early on. This love was strong enough to convince me and my siblings to migrate with my parents when they wished to retire and return to their homeland. Unfortunately for me and my sisters the harsh realities of this savage land smashed our rose tinted goggles. The country of my parents was not what it seemed.

Instability brought upon by illiteracy and agitated by opportunistic elements, continues to inflict mortal wounds. The economy is shot, the infrastructure crippled, the populace beaten, the leaders corrupt. It would be easy to launch in to a vicious verbal attack; picking at the problems of this under developed country laughing and mocking all the while. That would be easy and cruel this is something I simply can’t do. Yes the country has problems but I examine and ponder each one with respect and with the intention of finding solutions. That is what is uneasy that is what is humane.

The issue of economy and infrastructure go hand and hand. My dad tried to establish his practice in Karachi he even partnered with a likeminded friend who had also left a burgeoning business in the states to set up shop in the country they both loved. But one problem after another hindered their efforts. Efficiency and productivity were severely limited and at the mercy of unreliable power supply, decrepit roads and a limited pool of qualified human resource. Add to that clientele who did not uphold their end of the bargain and you can see why dad had to pay frequent visits to his US based clients.

These circumstances did not affect me much while in college. But ever since my beloved Abu’s death and my new responsibilities I simply cannot put up with that kind of nonsense! I am thankful to God for allowing me to return to the US where I can spend my energies on worthwhile endeavors.

So as you can see the picture is pretty bleak. I know there are many big businesses there doing tremendous work I am well aware of this. But it is hard for expatriates to break into that world as we are automatically discriminated against for being “outsiders”. So we are left with very little options but I digress.

Getting back on point it is evident that a weak economy is compounding the problems of the common man. Many draw parallels between the volatile populace and the prelude to the French Revolution. The corrupt leaders are more or less saying for these down trodden souls to feast on cake in the absence of bread. It’s no wonder emotions are seething. True supporters of Pakistan try to quell the anger while opportunistic entities capitalize on this vulnerability and incite violence.

These entities were prevalent during the 80’s and especially the mid 90’s. The city of Karachi descended into a hell on earth as thugs were recruited under the guise of a racist and nationalistic ideology to wreak havoc on the people. Ummatis were divided into frivolous groups based on language and ethnic origin. They were pitted against each other and made to shed each other’s blood. No mercy or decency was shown as every instrument of torture and death was brought to bare. The streets ran red.

Privately and at times openly, enemies of the Ummah celebrated, indulging in the gore. When compatriots demanded the extradition of those individuals found to be orchestrating the carnage the enemies hid behind their laws and disallowed it. Rather they demanded we capture their wanted souls with calls of “Do More”.

When Pakistan was not a front line state these shameful internal affairs were barely known by the outside world. Now with the spotlight firmly fixed on the Afghan/Pakistan border if we sneeze the world hears it. Ladies and gentlemen we are sneezing yet again. Those nationalistic, racists political parties are at it again inciting hatred and turning brother against brother a crime for which they will have to answer for in the ethereal court of God.

For the most part descent people don’t partake in the medley only riff raff who have nothing better to do get their kicks by beating up on some guy, setting fires and smashing storefronts. This is something that can happen without warning. I remember one time buying jewelry with my mom (yes for my engagement) in a popular shopping district. We’re sitting in the gleaming, air conditioned store, the door securely locked, soft drinks in hand; when all of a sudden we get word of mass rioting. It’s not too far away from where we are the lafungey are disrupting traffic because there is no water in their kuchi abadi. Repeated complaints to city officials were of no use thirsty and fed up they took to the streets. The police dispersed them quickly enough and life resumed once again.

We were lucky with that one. At times these things get out of hand and the violence can go on for days. It’s common to see dump trucks engulfed in flames on the side of the road on those occasions. That’s when they bring in an elite division of the army known as the Rangers. Their attack vehicles with rear mounted twin barrel submachine guns quickly cut down miscreants. But it is only a stop gap solution. Society tries to reform itself. With public prayers for God to show mercy on his believers and an appeal for forgiveness for our sins. Again descent people take heed however the people who need to hear this message are deaf and dumb, words do not affect them and they go right on playing into the hands of Satan. That’s why our best minds have left that land to apply their skills and talents in countries that appreciate them and reward them in kind. In the end the populace is left helpless left to fend for itself.

Who can they turn to? It seems not even Allah wishes to ease their discomfort. Disasters pre-ordained for this land for whatever purpose are upon it once again. Who can forget the earthquakes in the Northern Areas from not too long ago? Religious leaders were quick to point out punishment for our sins. Currently raging river water has caused even more deaths a sinful people are being punished yet again.

I am concerned but not losing sleep, mostly because no one I personally know has been affected. I’ll probably make a small financial contribution to relief work to ease my guilt and then go about my business. The usual chain of events will ensue initially people will try to help each other out. When that will not be enough the Government with its meager resources will step in. When that will prove to be insufficient they will go begging to the international community for help. Relief agencies will arrive and set up camp. The mullahs will object to the influx of foreign spies. The governments representing the agencies will deny the allegation. The Pakistani Government will apologize for the unruly Mullahs maybe even arrest a couple for good measure. In the end they will be able to establish some kind of refugee camp where the inhabitants will live out many atrocious days before being allowed to return home by the authorities. But not before the deaths of many.

And so it goes heaven sent souls returning from whence they came thus completing our time on planet earth. Ameen and goodnight to one and all.

Looks like I'd lose my head...

2010-07-23T16:20:00.002-04:00

Look what showed up on my uni's yahoo group. This made me crack up, it's so true sometimes I can't figure out how to apply my comp sci knowledge when I am dealing with mundane everyday issues at work. I know whatever I have to say would be to abstract and I'd get smacked. Read on after the jump:

Electrical Engineering vs. Computer Science
Once upon a time, in a kingdom not far from here, a king summoned two of his advisors for a test. He showed them both a shiny metal box with two slots in the top, a control knob, and a lever. "What do you think this is?"One advisor, an engineer, answered first. "It is a toaster," he said. The king asked, "How would you design an embedded computer for it?" The engineer replied, "Using a four-bit microcontroller, I would write a simple program that reads the darkness knob and quantizes its position to one of 16 shades of darkness, from snow white to coal black. The program would use that darkness level as the index to a 16-element table of initial timer values. Then it would turn on the heating elements and start the timer with the initial value selected from the table. At the end of the time delay, it would turn off the heat and pop up the toast. Come back next week, and I'll show you a working prototype."

The second advisor, a computer scientist, immediately recognized the danger of such short-sighted thinking. He said, "Toasters don't just turn bread into toast, they are also used to warm frozen waffles. What you see before you is really a breakfast food cooker. As the subjects of your kingdom become more sophisticated, they will demand more capabilities. They will need a breakfast food cooker that can also cook sausage, fry bacon, and make scrambled eggs. A toaster that only makes toast will soon be obsolete. If we don't look to the future, we will have to completely redesign the toaster in just a few years."

"With this in mind, we can formulate a more intelligent solution to the problem. First, create a class of breakfast foods. Specialize this class into subclasses: grains, pork, and poultry. The specialization process should be repeated with grains divided into toast, muffins, pancakes, and waffles; pork divided into sausage, links, and bacon; and poultry divided into scrambled eggs, hard- boiled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs, and various omelet classes."

"The ham and cheese omelet class is worth special attention because it must inherit characteristics from the pork, dairy, and poultry classes. Thus, we see that the problem cannot be properly solved without multiple inheritance. At run time, the program must create the proper object and send a message to the object that says, 'Cook yourself.' The semantics of this message depend, of course, on the kind of object, so they have a different meaning to a piece of toast than to scrambled eggs."

"Reviewing the process so far, we see that the analysis phase has revealed that the primary requirement is to cook any kind of breakfast food. In the design phase, we have discovered some derived requirements. Specifically, we need an object-oriented language with multiple inheritance. Of course, users don't want the eggs to get cold while the bacon is frying, so concurrent processing is required, too."

"We must not forget the user interface. The lever that lowers the food lacks versatility, and the darkness knob is confusing. Users won't buy the product unless it has a user-friendly, graphical interface. When the breakfast cooker is plugged in, users should see a cowboy boot on the screen. Users click on it, and the message 'Booting UNIX v.8.3' appears on the screen. (UNIX 8.3 should be out by the time the product gets to the market.) Users can pull down a menu and click on the foods they want to cook."

"Having made the wise decision of specifying the software first in the design phase, all that remains is to pick an adequate hardware platform for the implementation phase. An Intel 80386 with 8MB of memory, a 30MB hard disk, and a VGA monitor should be sufficient. If you select a multitasking, object oriented language that supports multiple inheritance and has a built-in GUI, writing the program will be a snap. (Imagine the difficulty we would have had if we had foolishly allowed a hardware-first design strategy to lock us into a four-bit microcontroller! )."

The king wisely had the computer scientist beheaded, and they all lived happily ever after.

Drink this read that

2010-07-21T08:26:00.009-04:00

Hmmm should this become a regular feature? With the summer season in full swing the masses are hot and sweaty. Air conditioning is needed for basic survival. Here in NYC you’ll find most apartments with their AC’s blasting. It’s a huge strain on the grid but ConEd doesn’t give out and continues pumping out the juice. Unlike other utilities I know which can’t get enough of shutting off your power and wreaking havoc with your sensitive appliances. MW often calls in complaining about the lack of power, which motivates me even more to bring her over ASAP.

At any rate being in the midst of a heat wave is no fun. You sweat a lot and remaining hydrating is an uphill battle. I have to literally walk up a hill to get to my apartment building. If I am carrying bags of groceries the strain is doubled. By the time I walk in and give myself a look in the lobby mirror I am a mess. What’s worse I have given myself a headache. I need a nice cup of tea to get me back on track. Of course the preferred drink to rehydrate in the states is any number of colored sports drink. As effective as they are they are only there to replenish you, they can’t stave off the effects of heat sickness.

May I suggest to you Hamdard’s Rooh Afza:

Hamdard is a prestigious laboratory based in Pakistan, specializing in herbal medicine. They have come up with numerous remedies to common ailments like coughs, flu, colds etc. Perhaps their most tasty concoction is their summer time remedy. The label says that it’s for preventing and curing common summer time ailments brought on by excessive heat. With its all natural ingredients you get a light and refreshing drink once the syrup has been mixed with a glass of cool water. Of course people don’t stop there, it’s sweet and aromatic taste has made it a staple ingredient for deserts. Mixed with milk it makes for a tasty shake (a treat my mom served up for iftar, its refreshing goodness was much appreciated after a long day of fasting). All in all it’s the perfect summer drink. You can look for it in specialty stores as Hamdard distributes in the US.

UPDATE1: RAMADAN MUBARAK TO ALL MY READERS! You guys have been great feeding the hit counter but slipping on the comments >:-\ Anyways if you are fasting this month more power to you hope you make it through in one piece, dropping bad habits along the way and of course being forgiven for the past years sins. Pray for yours truly that he can do the same. Peace.

UPDATE2: I just bought a bottle from my local desi grocer. Man were the lines packed! In the evening when I get home I pass by the store to pick up a few groceries, by few I mean by how much I can carry up the hill to my building. The evenings are always a frantic times as dads getting off of work are doing the required milk run and moms are picking up some last minute items for that dinner party they are having.

But today on the eve of Ramadan it seemed like all of Hillside descended on this one store. The lines were snaking into the aisles! At first I thought of bailing but I needed water to drink. So I toughed it out. Glad I did because while waiting in the line I came across a shipment of the red elixir. I had to have some, its a welcomed addition to the iftar. So yeah it seems I am all set for Ramadan I even got a new alarm clock but that story is for another time. I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog post...

During the summer months the heat isn’t the only thing rising. With women dressing down libidos are at an all time high. In the past (and not too distant past) my sex drive has gotten me into trouble. On the one hand my nafs says “just do it” while my religious conditioning says “don’t do it”. I am left in the lurch it’s like driving full force on a highway with your parking brakes on. Over time you start to smell a strange odor because something burned out. In my case it’s more than just a burn out, unfortunately for me I get a case of depression. Depression is no fun and the harmful effects ripple out from me and punish people close to me as well.

Although I get back on my feet and I am stronger for it the threat is always there. The worst thing that I could think of is hurting MW because of my illness. That’s why I wanted to learn more about what Islam says about Sex. Naysayers may be raising eyebrows by now. Islam recognizes sex? Yes, yes it does and it has plenty to say. Remember Islam is more than a religion it’s a complete way of life that can be followed individually, by the family, by the society and by an entire civilization. So why wouldn’t it guide us through one of the most sensitive issues a man and woman can face together?

May I introduce to you Mufti Ibn Adam’s book Islamic Guide to Sexual Relations:

Now for the most part conservatives like me and others tend to shy away from this topic. In my case I feel it’s immoral to go around talking about indecent things. Furthermore you stand the risk of exciting others and you would be partly punished for any sins that they commit. Keeping this in mind I didn’t want to mention that I bought this book. But then I see Islamophobics talking endlessly about how “them damn Moslems” go around beating their wives and killing their daughters. It made me sick to see how narrow minded and one sided their arguments really are. Often times they are so blinded by their hate they often don’t consider the facts and make their case based on heresy and paranoia.

Well I am here to set the record straight. We love our wives and daughters. We give more respect to our mothers than most American teens would ever dare to give. Oh and we know who are fathers are. I hate it when those morons get to me and I have to sling mud just like them. My apologies to any sensitive readers; so getting back to the review. In a word, stupendous.

I must say I had some preconceived notions of my own and this book helped clear them up. I have even more love for the prophet and respect for his companions after reading this. They were real human beings who faced each and every aspect of human nature with the utmost dignity and nobility. As God had intended their example became a beacon of enlightenment for all mankind for all times. Mufti Adam takes us through each phase of the typical sexual encounter. Mind it he clearly states that the only lawful encounter is between a man and his wife. As groundbreaking as this book may be he doesn’t condone any deviant relations, including homosexuality.

Having said that readers will find this book to be surprisingly liberal. The author himself tries to explain why he chose to be so explicit. He is a religious figure and is expected to maintain a certain level of decorum. But when he saw classical scholars, who enjoy tremendous respect in the Ummah, had written works on this subject in even greater detail. He felt embolden and began to tackle many modern issues we as Muslims living in the West have to face. Growing up in the glare of Hollywood we just like everyone else are often given our first lesson on sexual relations by celebrities. Its easy to make the case that they are not the best role models for a happy married life. But we get no respite society is saturated by their message and everything is geared towards fornication and adultery. It can make a man go mad!

That’s why I am deeply thankful to the Mufti for writing this book and to Allah for giving me the chance to read and understand it. The contents deal with mundane hadiths that we have been hearing ever since we were kids. Like staying clean and healthy. But then he brings up hadiths that our parents never mentioned. Let’s just say that Allah’s mercy to mankind was a skilled lover. Subhanallah. Oh and the chapter about the fiqh of ones wedding night, is enough to cover the cost of admission alone.

I don’t get paid to evangelize this work. I am just a fan and da’ee who wants to get the word out. I hope this book can help others just like it has helped me. If you want to interact with the Mufti, who is 30 something, born and raised in the UK and classically trained in Islamic teachings by some of the greatest scholars or our time you can go to his website. This link is also in the “Political Activism” blog roll look for the text Ask Adam.

So that’s my shpeel. All in all you should be ready for summer after reading this. You should know what to drink if you need to cool off. And what to read in case you can’t. Till next time I bid you farewell.

IT'S OUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!

2010-07-19T22:11:00.004-04:00

A year ago today MW and I signed our marriage contract. One year later we have remained committed to that mutual promise. In celebration here's some Urdu poetry for all you lovers out there. May everyone find and hold on to their soulmate. Ameen.

UPDATE: Today we celebrated our second engagement anniversary. It was very modest just a few text messages and an e-card. Long distance relationships are so hard to endure. I miss her terribly and want her by my side as soon as possible. Her immigration case is proceeding at a slow yet steady pace. sure there have been some small hiccups but by the grace of god it was nothing I couldn't take care of. So there's hope for the future. Tata for now.

Goodies for you

2010-07-11T18:51:00.006-04:00

Wow what a win! Congrats to Spain you guys deserve it! Just finished watching the final match of the world cup. I managed to get a hold of a live stream off of the internet. I would have used my cable transmission but it was spewing its signal into empty space as it didn't have a TV to catch and decode it. As I have mentioned my TV is busted. I have it packed and set aside. There is no recall so I plan on selling it for parts. I called a couple of dealers this morning to do just that. Hopefully someone will bite. I am glad for a high speed internet connection that let's me witness a momentous occasion such as this.

Another momentous occasion in my world is the production of two kick ass graphics. I am sharing them with you so you can marvel at their grandeur. They are the cover arts of my short story and debut novel:

Wicked cool eh? I made it using flash. This is for the exclusive Smashwords release. Each weekend I get a few precious hours to work on my dream project. And here are the fruits of this weeks labor of love. I do this for free but the chance to get paid makes it twice as nice. SW has very specific guidelines for manuscript formats. The short story is compliant and will most likely be uploaded first. There are just some kinks I have to work out with the front matter but I am sure that will be resolved. Then I have to do the same for the novel length work.

Once that is done I plan on doing some marketing. Get the word out to the SW community that their favorite son has arrived, huzzah! Then I plan on sitting back and watching the paisa roll in. With sales! sales! sales! and hits! hits! hits! because the e-books will also contain links to this blog and the sadisoft website. Any proceeds will go towards my project (or to pay off bills which ever is more pressing). In the meantime I will be working on the sequel to ROTD that Ishan sets up for us. I am working on a really spine tingling concept, which the faithful will find most exhilarating!

In the meantime feast on this delightful eye candy. I find they capture the gray and ominous feel of the stories, quite nicely. Enjoy!

UPDATE: You know it's great how international events like the world cup bring people together. NY has a large Hispanic community and in the aftermath of a Spanish victory, their pleasure is understandable. On my way to work, ever so often, I spotted gold and red jerseys in the crowd. On the train ride home the guy standing next to me was clad in the victors colors. I wanted to engage him in dialogue but hesitated. Finally I piped up, asking why his jersey didn't have the now obligatory gold star. He was delighted and extended his hand in friendship. We started talking about the game, the nail biting last minutes, and how both teams were equally matched and it was only pure luck that one side was able to score. We were both ecstatic that the game wasn't decided by a humdrum penalty kick.

The conversation soon drifted towards our livelihoods we each told each other what we did for a living and the joys and sorrows of the daily grind, family life. In the end we had learned more about each other than we normally would. All because of a game we had watched. A shared experience that brought us closer together. Giving us a chance to discover our common humanity. We can never have too many of these kinds of events. Perhaps we can even dare to overcome hateful ideologues like "clash of civilizations". In the words of a particularly poignant advertisement "We all speak football".

Did you stay tuned to the spot...

2010-07-05T16:42:00.004-04:00

Because if you did you would have noticed that a big shiny medal is in its place. I know it appears blury but that is the Stephen Colbert award for literary excellence. If you know anything about the funnyman you would know that is all huey.

What it is, is a gimmick to get you to click on it. After doing so you will be taken to my smashword profile. Yeah boy! I am getting serious about publishing and I had told you I had found a distributor so here it is. No books up yet, but I will take care of that soon. Once that is done I'll let you know plus if you follow me on FB there too. Be sure to buy a copy or at the very least donate. I got a mouth to feed and bills to pay!

Boob Tube Slump

2010-07-04T10:22:00.005-04:00

If you are friends with me on Facebook or happened to stumble upon my profile you would see a status update stating the fact that my TV is busted. The "Don't Buy Philips" mantra is so true and I will never buy products from that company again. Until I can get a new set my apartment feels very spartan. I love watching the bube tube, so does MW. So while I am between sets what is a guy to do? Well adapt of course. I decided to head on over to youtube and hulu to scrounge up some movies that I had missed. I am happy to say these tube sites have delivered the goods. Last night I binged on some tasteful documentaries and films. Here are my reviews of some of them.

The first one is "Ramchand Pakistani" a debut film by director Mehreen Jabbar. It's an excellent tale of life on the Pakistani Indian border. After a young Hindu boy accidentally crosses into no man's land and then the country of India he's apprehended by security forces. His father, in search of him, follows suite. The callous security personnel promptly accuses them of being spies (yes even the cute little boy) and throws them in jail. Where they languish for years on end. This is such a heartbreaking story it's stupid how nationalism makes us treat fellow humans in such an inhumane manner. We are all God's creations our souls come from the same place and must return to him. We are so much more than a group of nations we are citizens of the Earth. Hiding behind our national flags to justify violence against a people of another flag is medieval and vile. Let's try to gather under the banner of Humanity!

This next documentary tries to do just that. After the success of "Super Size Me" Director Morgan Spurlock is at it again. This time spurred on by the impending birth of his child he seeks to make the world a safer place. So he goes after the most wanted man in the Universe. A play on the popular Kid's show the title film seeks to chronicle the effects of "The war on Terror" on common folks in the countries that have been blacklisted as the most dangerous in the world.

At first Morgan appears very paranoid and eats up the propaganda spewed by Fox and Friends. I thought, great another independent filmmaker biting the bullet and becoming part of a "Red Neck Agenda" (tip of the hat to Green Day!). But he admits that he's just being paranoid and begins his journey. Following the trail of destruction allegedly perpetrated by OBL and his henchmen. He's taken to numerous Muslim countries. He sits down and talks to movers and shakers, university students and ordinary folks. For the most part no one considers OBL to be their champion and curse him for bringing the wrath of the US military upon them. The film goes out of its way to show that demonized Arabs just want to go about their business in peace, building a better future for their children and co-existing with others. Spurlock is a multi-culturist something that I am too. So I totally dig this movie and recommend it to all my readers.

However towards the end the film maker couldn't gather the nerve to enter into the tribal areas of Pakistan. A roadside sign clearly stated that foreigners are not allowed. Thinking of his family and himself he said it wasn't worth it and heads back. I don't blame him I once had a run in with an Afghani Gunmen guarding a settlement on the outskirts of my town in Pakistan. Let's just say a change in underwear was needed. This next and last film also tackles the issue of foreigners and their misadventures with the tribesmen of Pakistan.

But perhaps its most compelling message is the battle between traditionalist and Liberal elements within the Islamic Faith. Each wants to serve their lord in their own way. Some through music others through vigilantly justice. The opposing forces come head to head in a dramatic court scene. The film was plagued with controversy because of what the Liberal Imam had to say. He bashes the traditionalist for focusing on how people dress when it's what's on the inside that counts. Plus he justifies the use of Music saying that the Prophet David was blessed with the gift of Music by our Lord. The narrow minded people lash out and attack the defendant. This is typical of these backwards people. They have hijacked the religion of Islam to feed their power lust.

During my time in Karachi one of my classmates said that his Imam told him that the famous hadiths in which the Prophet (PBUH) says that the greater Jihad is the Jihad against the Nafs not Jihad against are enemies, was false. I was shocked by his comments and wondered who on earth was feeding him this poison, as this is clearly unIslamic just like denying education to girls., or justifying the killing of Muslims by other Muslims. Of course I don't expect my opponents to understand these nuances. Their view of Muslims is tainted by propaganda that says that we are all radicals bent on killing every last American. They have no idea who they are dealing with we are a civilization much older and wiser then the century old American Empire. More sensitivity and enlightenment on their part is sorely needed.

Overall I agree with the Imams Liberal views and find the film to be well made raising some very important issues. Although the interrogation scenes seems a bit far fetched. I doubt law enforcement will abduct you from your home in the middle of the night without a warrant and then torture you to make a false confession. That's not to say that this sort of thing hasn't happened to foreign nationals in the aftermath of 9/11. Lastly while I am being critical I must also say the cinematography was a bit hokey. We moved through the story in an abrupt manner smoother transitions were needed.

So that was my film binge made possible by the 4th of July long weekend. I might do another one if I have time. I'll let you know what I come up with in the meantime share with me what you did over the break.

My better half

2010-06-25T11:19:00.009-04:00

In the battle of life acquire the nature of steel

In the Love's bed-chamber become soft like silk

Truer words were never spoken. I am taking Iqbal’s sage advice to heart. Most of the previous posts have been hard hitting exposes. To tell you the truth it gets a bit exhaustive to constantly rant and rave about the injustices in the world. Besides I have more pressing concerns, like surviving on my own for the first time in my life. This is a major change for me. My parents provided a very sheltered environment and even in my mid twenties my dad would always emphasize getting a masters degree over working. “You have your whole life for working.”

After his tragic death I had to come to grips with my new reality. I was now on my own. What’s more I had a family to take care of. I knew I would make it. I had and do have confidence in my education and I am constantly gaining more experience but it still feels unnerving. I never did get a job in corporate America as I had imagined (but I haven’t given up still at it), thankfully my family took me in and I am doing fine within the family business.

Through these trying times my greatest comfort was my wife. Over the great distances her words would reach me and touch my heart. She has helped me get over deep emotional pains, which will make me forever in her debt. Next month we will celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. It was one year ago in the company of friends and family we declared our love and commitment to each other. I haven’t shared pictures from that event with my readers. I found them too precious to cast upon the cruel cold world. But over the past year we have grown closer and have created some very private and beautiful memories. It is now that I feel ready to introduce you to my better half.

This is us at our nikkah reception. Earlier in the day I had signed our marriage contract at the local mosque. We had all gathered for asr. After prayers the imam made an announcement that the masjid would play host to a nikkah ceremony and that whoever from the congregation would like to stay and witness the sacred event may do so. My friends and family were in attendance as imam saab went over the contract explaining each part to me and asking if I accept this marriage. I had to repeat twice that I did indeed accept this marriage. MW’s (my wife) brothers were witnesses along with my dad and uncle and so with a final stroke of the pen the marriage was official. Of course in her excitement MW had signed the contract the night before!

While I am at it I want to share another picture of another event. Long time readers may recall my two day engagement ceremony (days 1&2). What they might not recall is how the love of my life looked on that day. I can testify that she looked extremely stunning:

It makes me absolutely giddy thinking of her, something I indulge in everyday. But let me tell you there is nothing like the real thing. Right now an entire ocean and two continents separate us. We want to make our life in the United States. For that to happen she needs to immigrate here. I am making this happen by becoming her sponsor. Our petition has already been filed with the state department progress is slow but steady. So far there haven’t been any setbacks something I am thankful for everyday. It is only a matter of time before my government gives her the green light.

Until that happens we eagerly prepare for our wedding reception. Each family is making preparations. Jewelry is being bought, fancy dresses are being selected, and venues are being pondered. It is sure to be a star studded three day event. The first day is the mehndi that’s when the bride to be has a pow wow with her friends. Songs are sung and henna is liberally applied. The groom has something like that called ubton but that is for more liberal households. The second day is the barath. The bride’s family plays host. When the guests are seated I am to arrive with my entourage. I’ll mingle with the guests and then be taken over to sit next to the bride. Photos will be taken and dinner will be served. The guests will congratulate us and then slowly file out. At this time the bride must say goodbye to her family as she is now leaving her father’s home. It’s a very emotional time and it is very hard to find a dry eye. It’s all part of the journey we call life.

The third and final day is the valima. This is hosted by the groom’s family. I will sorely miss the presence of my dad at this event. I am sure he would put together a mile long guest list inviting all his friends from his student leader days. We are on good terms with some of them so we will be sure to invite them. Of course I have my own friends as well so I’ll be inviting whoever I can. The special thing about this day is that this is the first time the bride and groom are presented as a couple. We are the host and hostess for the evening and we cater to our guest the best we can. By the grace of God it will be a splendid time and I will be sure to have pictures from the festivities for you, my dear readers.

Till then I bid you farewell.

About the Author

2010-06-20T20:20:00.006-04:00

Writing has been a passion of mine ever since I could remember. Teachers would give rave reviews of my writing skills which bolstered my confidence. I would continue on into adulthood practicing my craft. Almost a decade ago I narrowed my scope to a fictitious universe I had created. Any serious storytelling that I would do was within that context.

The universe was constantly enhanced until it became rich and fulfilling. So much so I found myself being able to do other things. Creating born-digital artwork, working on a game based on the universe, dedicating a website just to showcasing my work. It soon became apparent that I had something to go on. So I went ahead and created my own publishing label.

Lo' and behold I managed to find a distributor for my work! I am preparing my manuscript according to their guidelines. One crucial component they insist on is including an "About the Author" section. I really liked that idea and came up with something really rad. I decided to share with you. So here goes...

About the Author

How to describe Saqib Sadiq (a.k.a. Ravi Chen)? Answer, angsty youth (now mature adult), sci-fi geek, and devout Muslim. All three seemingly disjointed aspects of his personalities frequently converge and brew a firestorm within him. Feeling at the perilous center of a trisecting Venn diagram his only solace and means of communicating his raw emotion is through writing. This tempest tossed piece of his being is absorbed by the one and only Ravi Chen, his alter ego.

The author took his love for Science Fiction and set out on a journey of self enlightenment. Studying his religion he found it awe inspiring and sought to implement it in his life. However after seeing his way of life demonized, believers and non-believers questioning its place in civilized society; he attempted to enlighten the naysayers via a genre he and they both knew and loved. Thus giving birth to his work and mission in life.

Pretty cool eh? Hey some good should come out of my nervous breakdowns, am I right? Or am I right? This distribution deal ties in with the "stay tuned to this spot" text in the sidebar (above Dilbert comic). So when I am up and running you should see something bright and shiny in that spot. So yeah stay tuned....

BTW, how do you like the new look? Isn't it awesome? Very spiritual yet spacey all at the same time, if I do say so myself. Well I am saying so myself so it really isn't a question of if, now is it?

My Name is Islam...

2010-06-17T09:06:00.007-04:00

I keep my mouth shut. I really do. 99.99% of the time I keep my mouth shut. When I hear the media blasting Islam and Muslims, I keep my mouth shut. When I hear pundits spinning events to make oppressed people appear as the oppressors, I keep my mouth shut. When I hear people talking in Islamophobic overtones, I keep my mouth shut. When I hear shock jocks creating fictitious pictures of how Muslims "really" are, I keep my mouth shut. What I do is pray within my heart that these people will see the light.

However we all know that is a weak response. At times you have to speak up. I hit an impasse when I read this post. I could not sit back and allow this mockery of human decency to continue. I had to say something less I lost my mind. As you read the comments you will see that despite my rational and valid points, (points that have to be acknowledged as ground realities if the US wishes to create effective policies in Iraq) I was rudely insulted (what a way to win hearts and minds). Apparently highlighting the truth is not in vogue. Also despite my repeated claims about being for Humanity and America, about being non-violent, about being moderate I was called a Taliban sympathizer. Furthermore I was dangerously accused of being in the Terrorist's camp and an Islamist Radical who could potentially do damage.

If voicing your opinion gets you in that kind of trouble then we are doomed ladies and gentlemen we are doomed. When we deny our citizens their right to freedom of speech then we are doomed. When freedom of speech equates to bad mouthing a religious figure and not criticizing the war effort then we are doomed. As we slowly hand over our rights claiming oh its for our security. Or oh they are only taking the "Moslems" away or oh they are only taking the hippies away. Or oh they are only taking the Liberals away. Pretty soon you will find that you have no rights and are living in a police state.

I highly doubt any one would take the accusations made seriously. I do believe they were made as a bullying tactic to keep me on the defensive. But one thing is clear the ugly response that I got was a case of sealed hearts and deaf ears being impervious to the pleas of the oppressed. I knew this to be true and wasn't going to speak on the matter but then a friend of mine sent me an article which I really liked. The issues raised rang true for me. I just had to have it on the blog! So without further ado I give you Dr. Islam...

"Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong; they are the ones to attain felicity". (Surah Al-Imran,ayat- 104)

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."-- Albert Einstein

My name is Islam —Mahjabeen Islam

It seems to me that the American vision will be forever jaundiced and my regular self will be painted and attired and then sneered and shouted at. And worse yet, my Pakistan has no place for me

Mine is a name that causes virtual whiplashes. I can hear them say “Dr Islam? Are you kidding me?!” The sophisticated ones bite their tongues; the bold ones, when I introduce myself, extend their hand and say, “Then I am Dr Christian!”

One would have expected tolerance and interfaith harmony to have plummeted post-9/11, with gradual improvement thereafter. But the tincture of time is not working here, quite the opposite; catalysed by the Great Recession, emotions are a-simmer and thin veneers fall fast.

I have partially borrowed the title of this article from the Bollywood production ‘My name is Khan’ in which megastar Shahrukh Khan does a terrific representation of Asperger’s syndrome. The refrain in the film is ‘My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist’ and not only is Asperger’s syndrome detailed accurately in the film, it successfully addresses issues such as home-grown terrorism and the steadily escalating antipathy toward anyone remotely resembling a Muslim.

And it resonated with me. For now, on an almost a daily basis, there is thinly veiled contempt, a poke or a jibe. Time was, even after 9/11, that people were pleasantly surprised that I was a Muslim. Expecting horns on my head, flowing robes or at least a headscarf, I know I evoked surprise for being so boringly average. But now I seem to be responsible for the Iraq fiasco, the Afghanistan invasion and of course the shooting at Fort Hood — to name only a few American and Muslim misadventures.

A 70-year old elderly white female, a patient of mine for the last 20 years, while checking out after her visit and planning her next appointment, wags her finger (I was standing right next to her) and says, “No fighting, no fighting, you stay in your country and I will stay in mine.” I know that somewhere along the genealogy line I am linked to Job. Not a word did I breathe; not for paucity of thought or fury.

How many people do I advertise to that I have lived in the US longer than my native Pakistan? What will it take to convince non-Muslim Americans that I do not spend my evenings and weekends participating in hot domestic-terrorism meetings? How many columns and events does it take to repeat that terrorism is roundly condemned by Islam, both the religion and little me?

Perhaps my patient has some room for misgivings — at least in her mind. Even before 9/11 I used to have copies of the Quran in my waiting room. After all, I figured if the Gideons can place Bibles in every hotel room, I certainly should try to enlighten with the message of the Quran. And of course after 9/11 it became required reading. Many Muslims and marketing gurus would consider it near-suicidal to have Islamic literature in a medical-office waiting room. And yet in my naïve activism-cum- spirituality I have this “He will provide for all living things” theory that perpetuates my risk-taking behaviours.

“I went to Vegas and noticed at the airports that there are not that many Arabs wearing Arabic clothes anymore, have you noticed?” asked my 76 year old black patient. I had not noticed, I said, there is a profusion in the mall when I go. “In the mall, but not at the airports!” he bellowed. “I guess they do not want to get arrested,” I tried to explain, illustrating with the imams that had gotten arrested for praying at Minneapolis airport. “So you are trying to shirk your religious duty because you are afraid?” his tone got strident, almost mocking. Well no, a group of South Asian and Arab-appearing men were arrested for praying in a Las Vegas parking lot with police radios saying that “objects were kissing the ground”. So damned if you pray and damned if you do not! Instead of healing I was, yet again, the defence attorney for all the Muslims of the world.

The other very favourite phrase is “why do you not go back to where you came from?” I have not been told that to my face, not yet, in any case, but many Muslims have. To think that all that come to the US come for the American dream is nothing short of arrogant delusion. I for one came for post-graduate training and while I was tentative about staying or returning to Pakistan, years passed and I had dropped roots. Returning to my native Pakistan because the going got a little tough is unfortunately impracticable with American-born children.

And if roots were still pulled, what do physicians face in Pakistan? Especially the straight-laced, honest types, unaware of which palms to grease or what strings to pull — harassment, kidnapping or penury?

And who gets to measure my patriotism and decide that it is deficient? I live in a ritzy Republican neighbourhood; my contemporary home stands out among the wan and conservative beiges and browns. And if that and the intermittent string of brown guests were not bad enough, I was audacious to have been the sole supporter of Obama in the subdivision. The day that I took my yard sign out, my neighbour across the street glared so hard that if looks could kill, the sign and I would have evaporated. He ignored my cheery hello and responded with two McCain-Palin signs and American flags in every square inch of the yard it seemed. And only three days later, the Obama sign was crumpled and flattened — not something I could have relegated to the reckless wind.

I know that I put the casual observer’s brain a bit on overdrive. The English is accented but understandable, the persona regular but the name, oh the name! It seems to me though that the American vision will be forever jaundiced and my regular self will be painted and attired and then sneered and shouted at. And worse yet, my Pakistan has no place for me. Not alive in any case.

Mahjabeen Islam is a family physician, addictionist and freelance columnist with a practice in Toledo, Ohio. She can be reached at mahjabeen dot islam at gmail dot com

This article appeared in the Daily Times.

UPDATE: I just finished watching Green Zone with Matt Damon (man is this guy good, he's been in a lot of great movies). I give this movie five out five stars. Excellent screenplay, superb acting by co-stars and stars alike and most importantly an accurate portrayal of what went down in Baghdad. Shunning the usual middle eastern flicks where the enemy is caricatured into a one dimensional villain. Whose only purpose is to enact violence against the blue eyed blond haired good guy. Who must take out the crazy pants psycho with extreme prejudice.

Rather the producers went with a much more realistic approach. Accurately portraying the Iraqi people as complex and 3 dimensional individuals. Who are not monoliths and have their own viewpoints and Ideas on who to side with. Ultimately they are all trying to come to grips with what is happening to their country. Also I like how American Soldiers are also given many layers. There are some who just want to follow orders and finish up their tour so that they can go back home. There are others who are restless and want to know more. We are taken into the secret world of espionage and cover ups. Based on what we find "Political thriller" sells it short.

Perhaps what I like the most is that half of what I argued on the post in question was confirmed. A systematic campaign to subjugate the Iraqi population was afoot (Abu Ghraib, disbanding the Iraqi Army rather than working with them and the general heavy handed approach when it came to grunts dealing with the local population). Intelligence provided to the US military was falsified, a betrayal of the highest order. These documents came from the highest parts of the chain of command. There is a part in the movie where the star is told not to be naive. I had to punch the air in excitement. That is exactly what I had said in my comments. Also I was nursing the notion that "brother" had become the new "comrade". I credit savvy script writing and well placed subtitles with confirming my notion. Finally the disconnect between the Green Zone and the Iraqi people was also highlighted in the movie. But that was something that we didn't contest on the post. All in all a very "unAmerican" portrayal of the war in Iraq. And for this I salute you.

Ode to Dad

2010-06-10T12:44:00.014-04:00

Last Monday was my Dad's birthday. Had he been alive he would have turned sixty. There is so much emotion inside of me that I can not put it into words. His absence is deeply felt. I wonder what advice he would give me as I embark on my new life. Even though I am a grown man he could never see me as such. He would say that I knew you ever since you were in your mother's womb. And watched you fumble as a baby, make mistakes as a child, lash out as a teen. Is it any wonder why, after you have matured can I only find faults to fix? So true Abu I will only understand when I have kids of my own.

To honor my Dad I am reprinting a poem from one of his favorite poets. I get my literary appreciation from him. A book of Urdu Poems from Allama Iqbal always stood adorned on his bookshelf. The poet's inspiration was the Quran, the teachings of the prophet and the plight of the Muslim Ummah. He was instrumental in inspiring the masses to rise up against oppression and fight for their freedom. In the end his words helped find the nation of Pakistan. Aside from this I new very little about his poetry until a friend introduced me to a compelling piece. Although translated from the original Urdu its prose are still moving.

Talu-e-Islam

The fading glitter of stars is the signal of a bright dawn
The sun has risen from the horizon, the time of deep stupor is gone!

Life-blood has started flowing through the dead arteries of the East
This secret is incomprehensible to Sina and Farabi !

The storm of the West has made the Muslim into a real Muslim
Only the upheavals of the sea bring the pearl's beauty to its perfection

The Muslim is to be endowed again from the God's Court with
Turkoman's dignity, Indian's intellect, Arab's eloquence

If some slumber is lurking still in the flower buds
Strike the beat harder if the taste for music is lacking

Jump restlessly in the garden, in the nest, in bowers
It is impossible to deprive mercury of its restlessness

Why should the eye used to chaste things see coat of arms
When it is able to see the valor of the Ghazi's soul!

O God, light the candle of Longing in the tulip's heart
Make every speck of garden's dust a martyr searching for the Truth

The effect of spring showers exists in the Muslim's tears
Pearls are to be produced again in the ocean of Ibrahim

The Book of the Muslim nation is being organized again
This Hashimite Branch is going to blossom again!

The beloved of Shiraz has won the hearts of Tabriz and Kabul
The zephyr produces its fellow traveler from rose fragrance!

The avalanche of calamity over Uthmanis is not to be bereaved
As the dawn is produced after destruction of myriad's of stars!

Insight into the world is more difficult than the world's sovereignty
Insight is produced only when the heart melts into blood!

For thousands of years narcissus bemoans its lack of luster
The discerning person is produced in the garden with difficulty

Sing O Nightingale so that with your modulations
The falcon's heart in the pigeon's frail body be produced

Concealed within your heart is the secret of life
Relate to the Muslim the traditions of pathos of life

You are the potent hand and the word of the Eternal God
O imprudent one! Develop Faith as you have been overcome with doubts

The Muslim's destination is beyond the azure colored sky
You are the caravan the dust of whose trail are stars!

The house is ephemeral, the dweller is momentary, yours are the Beginning and the End
You are the Final Message of God and you are eternal!

Your life-blood adorns with myrtle the bride called tulip
Your origin is from Ibrahim, you are the world's architect!

Your nature is the custodian of all life's possibilities
So to say you are the touch-stone for world's hidden jewels!

From the material world to the Eternal world
You are the gift which the Holy Prophet took!

The history of the Muslim nation reveals the secret
That you are the protector of the nations of Asia

Learn again the lesson of Truth, Justice, and Bravery
You are to be entrusted with the world's leadership!

This alone is the creation's objective, this alone is Islam's secret
That there should be universal brotherhood, abundant love!

Breaking the idols of race and color merge into the millat
There should be neither Turanian, nor Iranian, nor Afghanian!

How long the companionship of garden's birds inside the garden's confines?
Your wings are capable of the flight of Quhistan's falcon!

In the world of existence full of doubts, the Muslim's Faith
Is like a beacon of light in the dark night of the wilderness

What could demolish the grandeur of Qaiaer and Kisra?
Nothing but Haider's prowess, Bu Dhar's faqr, Salman's truth

With what dignity did the free men of the millat march out?
The centuries-old prisoners are only watching the spectacle through door's crevices!

Stability of life in this world is bestowed by firm Faith
The Turanian has proved even longer lasting than the German

When Faith is created in this earthly ember
It itself creates wings and plumage of Jibril!

Neither swords nor plans are of any avail in slavery
Chains are cast away when taste for Faith is created

Can anyone assess the strength of his arms?
Destinies are changed by the Believer's mere glance!

Sainthood, sovereignty, the universality of material knowledge
What are all these except unraveling of the secrets of Faith!

It is however difficult to develop Ibrahim's vision
Greed creates subconscious images stealthily in the vision!

The ruled and ruler's discrimination is the bane of humanity
Beware, O oppressors the punishments of God for this are severe!

The essence of everything is the same, be it of dust or light
Sun's blood would drip by cutting the core of dust's speck

Firm Faith, constant struggle, Love, conquest of the universe
These are the swords for the brave men in the battle of life

What is expected from the brave? High disposition, sincere creed
Warm heart, immaculate vision and restless soul!

Those who had attacked like eagle emerged as wingless
The evening stars after diving into dusk's blood emerged shining!

Those accustomed to swimming under the sea were buried under the sea
Those who bored ocean waves dashes emerged as pearls!

Those who were proud of alchemy are like the way side dust
Those who humbly prostrated before God emerged as elixir makers!

Our slow-moving messenger has brought the message of life
Those who got electric messages emerged as uninformed!

The Haram has been disgraced by the priests short-sight
With what excellent insight the Tatar youth have come out!

Angels, the denizens of celestial world, were saying to the earth
These earthly men emerged more lively, more virulent, more splendid!

The men of Faith live in the world like the sun
Set here, come out there, set there, come out here!

The individual's Faith is the means of national renaissance
This is the force which shapes the nation's destiny!

You are the secret of Kun Fikon, be manifest to yourself
Become the knower of the secret of Khudi, become interpreter of God

Human greed has torn the human race into pieces
Be the declaration of fraternity, become the language of Love

This is Indian, that Khurasanian, this Afghanian, that Turanian is
O you disgraced by nationalism, jump out and become boundless

Your wings and plumage are polluted with race and color's dust
O Haram's bird flutter your wings before you become ready for flight

O imprudent one! Dive in Khudi , this is the secret of life
Relinquishing the narrow confines of time become eternal

In the battle of life acquire the nature of steel
In the Love's bed-chamber become soft like silk

Transcend mountains and deserts like a furious flood
If there be a garden in your path, become a melodious brook

The bounds of your Knowledge and Love are none
Melody sweeter than you in the Divine orchestra is none!

Humanity is still the helpless prey to imperialism
Outrageous that Man is the hunter of the human race!

The glitter of modern civilization dazzles the eye
But this is the luster of unreal jewels only!

The science which was the pride of the West's sages
Is the battle-sword in the blood-stained clutches of greed!

The magic of prudence cannot make stable
The civilization which is based on capitalism

Dynamism establishes life; bestows heaven as well as hell
This earthly creature in its nature is neither angelic nor infernal

Partake the nightingale's clamor, open the flower bud
As your person is the spring breeze for this garden

The spark of Love has again risen from the Asia's heart
The world is the parading ground of the satin-clad Tatars

Come, a purchaser has appeared for this frail soul
After a long time a caravan has arrived at our place

Come, O cup-bearer, the sad bird's music is coming from the bower
Spring has come, the beloved has come, as the beloved has come tranquillity has come!

The spring cloud has established its camp up hill and down dale
The sound of waterfalls from the mountain tops has come!

I have surrendered my life to you, O cup-bearer, you should also sing the future's songs
Because in rows after rows groups of singing birds have come!

Withdraw from the ascetics and fearlessly draw the wine cup
After long nightingale's song from this old branch has come!

Narrate to Lovers the traditions of Badr and Hunain's Master 35
His hidden meanings clear to my eyes have become!

The other branch of Khalil is greening up with our blood
In Love's market-place our currency full value has become

I am sprinkling tulip petals at the martyr's grave
As his blood favorable to our nation's sapling has become!

Come, so that we may sprinkle flowers and pour wine in cup
Rend asunder the sky's roof and establish a new foundation

UPDATE: Found a video in which a portion of this poem is being recited. Thought I add it to increase the blog's multimedianess

My father was an influential man, friendships forged during his time as a student leader continued on into adulthood and old age. Sacrifices he made for the sake of promoting the true message of Islam are countless. Upon hearing of his death there was an outpouring of grief in his native Pakistan. Hundreds attended his funeral prayers and many more prayed for his salvation.
It was an honor recieving a letter of condolence from his long time friend, now an Amir of a reformist political party. It is recreated here for the sake of prosterity;

In it he addresses me, expressing his shock at hearing my father's death. He offers a prayer for his salvation, relates a hadith. He instructs how children should continously offer prayers for their deceased parents in the hopes of God bestowing on them the gift of Paradise. He then goes on and says he plans on visiting my mother's house next time he is in Karachi (he did). And concludes by praying for my wellbeing. For that I thank him.

I too strive to live up to my father's example. Using God given abilities I try to bring the message of Islam to anyone who wishes to hear it. My work, my time online is all geared towards this. I've introduced a new Label dubbed "SadiSoft" all news worthy items related to my publishing label will be categorized as such. Again I hope I can be a source of enlightment, a beacon in troubled waters. I pray that I am worthy of God's pleasure and that my father is forgiven his sins so that he may enter paradise. Ameen.

Panhandling

2010-06-01T10:22:00.006-04:00

As you may know I have started my own publishing label. I've got some keen intellectual property that I want to share with the world. It's a way for me to do dawah and earn some sawab. But as you know spiritual pursuits must be balanced with the realities of the world. In order to continue my work I need for readers to spread the word.

Over the Memorial Day weekend (how was yours by the way) I was tinkering around with my site (Scroll down to the "SadiSoft" logo to go to the site). I made some changes, I got rid of some crazy pants rants I had on it and tried to tone down my schpeel. All in an effort to make the site that more enjoyable to visit. I am hoping visitors enjoy themselves so much they might choose to make a financial contribution to help support my work. Just look for the donate button on the bottom of each page.

The work I do there is mostly to keep me sane. It's my way of expressing myself and commenting on all the craziness that's going on in the world. It helps me to make some kind of sense out of an all too often senseless world. I am expanding my efforts from more than just storytelling I am trying to make waves in the digital entertainment arena as well. A game based on the characters I created is in the works. But I need your help so please chip in it's for a good cause.

UPDATE: After seeing no one chip in after I so nicely asked for some money. I decided to add this button to the bottom of the page. Hopefully this will encourage my supporters to help out. Note the new look, pretty kewl, eh? I made it just for you, yes I did. Plus another hits are being celebrated with a shiny new rupee added to "the monetary hit counter". That's my trademark you hear!

The ugliness continues...

2010-05-19T09:36:00.012-04:00

I first talked about this situation earlier this month (two posts down second woot). It seems that Islamophobic enthusiasts couldn't let go of their hatred and decided to move their page somewhere else. The notorious event is still on for tomorrow. From my last count they had cached nearly 3,000 cartoons. It's amazing how active their Facebook page is a new wall post every second!

Misguided Muslim youth have decided to fight fire with fire. They decided to express their freedom of speech by picking on a sensitive cultural issue. Again not the approach to be taken. Everyone knows that the best way to deal with a bully is simply to ignore them. To enrage and inflame is their objective by giving in you help them achieve their purpose. Now there are calls for a boycott (some call for a permanent ban). By some estimates Facebook users that identify themselves as Muslim contribute 5 Million dollars to the site per year. So a three day boycott should hurt them financially.

That seems like a measured response. Would I be taking part in boycott? Probably not. Frankly speaking I find this all to be childish. Death threats, name calling all of this is not going to achieve anything. I've found that it is very difficult to persuade people who have already formed strong opinions. Save your breath folks! Islamophobics are what they are let them be. They have been around since the advent of Islam in fact their stiff resistance has helped us strengthen our Iman. So in a way we should be thanking them. By spewing their hatred they have raised awareness of our Prophet!

As others have mentioned the best we can do is learn more about our faith. Study the teachings and life of our beloved prophet. Spread his wisdom far and wide. I will be doing my part by watching this video. I haven't seen it but it comes highly recommended. Again love and peace for all and may we see a day when we can all get along and vile hatred has been stamped out of our hearts.

UPDATE: I just got word from one of my friends from oversees. Seems like the authorities have banned Facebook, in Pakistan. Woot! I will be eagerly watching how this all plays out.

UPDATE 2: And now Youtube too! Although the Pakistani government is acting in accordance with the will of the people a better approach would have been to block only the offending material and not the whole site. People conduct business and communicate via these sites so hopefully after the 3 day ban service can be restored.

For your information here's a good article on the issue. Let's hear it for the student leaders who gave a calm and reasoned response. Oh to be in the MSA again!

UPDATE 3: It seems that Facebook admins have had a change of heart. They have apologized to Pakistan's Minisitry of Information Technology. Subsequently the ban was lifted and it seems things have gone back to business as usual. Hopefully people will learn the difference between "freedom of speech" and "freedom of displaying your hatred for others". It's funny the founding fathers ensured our right to freely express ourselves as a means to keep government honest. A free press allowed to criticize unjust government policies is needed to form a more perfect union. It's a shame that these ignorant hatemongers abused their right in such a manner.

Mini Vacation

2010-05-16T14:37:00.010-04:00

So I've been meaning to blog about my recent escapade into Time Square. It all started when I felt burnt out a couple of weeks ago. Ever since my father's death I've been living in the apartment he left me and working to support myself. At first I only had Sundays off which was just enough time to do the laundry and nap. Not much in the entertainment department. But ever since I got promoted from the shop floor to a desk job I managed to get the weekend off. Now there is the possibility for some fun.

I started off small ordering movies of off my cable service (no, not those kinds of movies). But soon that wasn't enough I needed a bigger fix to ward off my impending burn out. To tell you the truth the constant routine of work and home was getting on my nerves I had to get out. So when I learned that Green Day (my second favorite band after Metallica) had adopted their American Idiot album into a musical I knew I had to see it. But I was a bit hesitant lewd scences were also part of the show. Would I want to be in that kind of environment? I figured I would risk it (turns out others were also uncomfortable with those scenes as their frowns would indicate, Go Modesty!) Soon enough I had my e-ticket thanks to the speedy service at telecharge. When the fateful day arrived I couldn't believe that I was actually doing this. I've never been to a Broadway play before and couldn't wait.

Travelling by F train took all of 45 minutes to get there. I was in the middle of Manhattan. Huge office buildings and posh parks surrounded me. I had the directions for the theater printed out on a Google map but had memorized the route. Leaving the train station I went on my way. There was about half an hour before the doors would open and I figured I could grab a bite to eat along the way. I was hoping for a Burger King their fish fillet is way better than McDonald's. But it was my destiny to strike upon a Subway "Bingo" I thought "Foot long tuna here I come!" After gorging on the fishy flesh smothered with sweet onion and southwestern sauce I made my way towards the St. James theatre.

But before reaching Broadway I had to pass through Time Square. It was just like the pictures! Coke bottle and jumbo tron galore! There were people everywhere. From what I could tell they were mostly tourist taking pictures and lounging around. I made my way through being sure not to make eye contact with the tour operator hawkers. The next block was home to several theatres all of which were playing one sort of play or another. It was very touristy there were huge multimedia displays up urging viewers to come inside and learn about King Tut, tempting but I'll pass.

Finally I reached my destination ticket holders were stretched out along the sidewalk. Now Green Day has its own punk rock style so fans were dressed up like the band, me I came as is in my usual clothes. No guy liner for me. The staff quickly let us in boxed us off in our sections and had us seated in no time. I was however able to take in the ambiance of the theatre. There was a bar on each floor with dimmed lights and everything. Very attractive just like any other vice is. Plus over inflated merchandise was also on hand but highly impractical $30 for a baseball cap come on!

Once seated the show started with a bang and didn't let up until the end. Seeing the stories from the album acted out gave me a better understanding of they were trying to say. However its anti-war message has always been clear. Indeed we need to love one another because we are part of the same universal family. Plus the poor and middle class people need to steer clear of powers that want to use them only for cannon fodder to further their materialistic and sadistic goals. Can I get another Amen?

Here's some proof that I was there. I couldn't take pictures as it wasn't allowed even then it wouldn't matter seeing how I don't own a digital camera. I am currently budgeting for my big wedding reception which is steadily inching closer. Can't wait to be with my wife we've grown fonder of each other through the months. We miss each other very much and can't wait to be together. So yeah rock on!

IEEE Karachi Section History

2010-05-16T08:28:00.002-04:00

An interesting read for those curious about the progress of science and technology in the city of Karachi, known as the revenue engine for the nation of Pakistan.
IEEE Karachi Section History - GHN: IEEE Global History Network

Now I've been told to toot your own horn every now and then less others use it as spittoon. So it makes me feel very shiny to mention that the top brass of this section compromises of former professors. Also the most prolific campus that has managed to outpace other university in the sheer number of IEEE branches happens to be my alma matter. This is where I did my masters studies and attempted my thesis. Sadly I couldn't finish because of trying times in my personal life. No worries I have enough college credit to convince any employer that I am indeed an M.Sc. and also I am working towards my PMP so that should seal the deal when it comes to my career advancement. Right now I am at a ho hum job with my uncle and cousin. Glad to have it as it pays the bills but again ho hum.

The Woots just keep on coming

2010-05-06T23:12:00.002-04:00

Folks there is a lot going on in the news that has irked me in some way. However I couldn’t form a strong enough opinion to say something about it. However the issues welled up inside me until a perfect storm had formed. Now witness the ensuing deluge.

Woot #1: Boobquake
It all started when Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi gave his regular Friday sermon at his Mosque in Tehran. In it he made reference to how we can avoid calamities from God. He argued that since this calamity is due to God’s power only God can protect us. How do we gain God’s protection, by not disappointing him. One of the examples he put forth of how we can gain God’s favor is to dress modestly. This is not something unusual. Muslim clerics have been preaching that Allah chastises us in this world with natural disasters for our transgressions. The recent earthquakes in Pakistan’s northern areas were blamed on budding homosexual relations between men in the restive province of Sarhad. Proponents of this theory often site San Francisco as having a notoriously huge gay community and prone to earthquakes as evidence.

My question is why a sudden interest in Friday sermons? I mean I am glad non-believers are taking an interest in our beliefs but how does this concern them? What difference does it make what a Cleric says half way around the world? Is it because he’s Iranian and this is a good opportunity to yet again show the world how loony these people are? Perhaps add fuel to the growing fire for war on Iran (btw Ahmadinejad’s speech at UN did not come across as unreasonable as the media will have you believe)? Instead of countering the Cleric’s argument with rational discourse, American women decided to bare all.

Ladies and Gentlemen I give you boobquake the brainchild of Purdue University senior Jennifer McCreight. She challenged the cleric’s statement saying that it was offensive as it picked on women as the ring leaders of immodesty. Proving the cleric’s point further she then asked women around the world to wear immodest clothing to see if they could cause an earthquake. Over 100,000 women responded to her call. The best part is that they fully expected to prove him wrong however the day of the planned debauchery, April 26, the Island nation of Taiwan was hit by 6.9 magnitude earthquake! Boobquake fanatics are surprisingly moot on that point.

Says the holy Qur`an: “Nay here are signs self-evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge: And none but the unjust reject our signs.” (Qur`an 29:49).

Now I am not one to simply sling some mud around and call it a day. I feel bad for these ladies, have they no self respect? Dressing immodestly only objectifies them and makes them appear as play things for men. People it’s not liberation it’s exploitation! Of course it’s hard for upholders of secular ideals to understand this, heck they will ban the burka if you try too hard. (Which by the way is a disgusting thing to do how can you order a women, by the power of court to reveal herself in public? This is a personal matter between her lord and herself how she chooses to express her modesty is up to her.) Girls I implore you, you don’t have to show skin to appear attractive the very opposite is true. Modest dress is beautiful just look what this designer came up with. I hope I presented my case with choice words and you see my side of the story, God bless.

Woot #2: Killing the Messenger
Those crazy cartoonists are at it again. Just like any other bully once they know you have a weak spot they just can’t help picking at it. It all started when I was relaxing at home flipping through the channels on my LCD TV when I came across a south park episode on comedy central. Now normally I don’t watch this show because I feel just a bit dirty when I am done. But it’s good for killing brain cells so I tuned in. Lo and behold they began parading religious Icons from the world’s major religions. There was Buddha snorting coke and Jesus (PBUH) looking clueless as ever there were some more but they slip my mind. I was wondering are they going to…yep they are. A black strip with the words “Censor” appeared in the place of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) image.

I finished watching the show, bear suit and all and came away thinking what a crock. Did I find it particularly offensive no, was it disrespectful, yes. Switching off the TV I knew a storm was brewing they weren’t going to let this go without making a huge stink. Just look what happened to the Dutch cartoonist. The first salvo was made by Revolution Muslim. After perusing their site I came to know the management of this group. It turns out I recognized the head honcho. He appeared at Friday Prayers at a Mosque I frequent when in Manhattan. After the congregation disbanded to go about their normal routine this guy stood on the sidewalk and began delivering a controversial speech. We gave him stares as if saying “Shut up dude if you know what’s good for you.” But he persisted. Eventually our Mosque’s administration had to call in the police to escort him away.

Jon Stewart picked up on their post that warned the south park creators to stop or they could face repercussion. Although I found the “Go eff yourself choir” to be a bit extreme Asif Manvi’s opinion on the matter are also my own. But the crisis did not end there a cartoonist by the name of Molly Norris began “Draw Muhammad Day”. As a sign of solidarity with the creators of the offensive and vile cartoon show series, South Park (A show no child should watch unless you want them to grow up with no character and moral compass). A Facebook page was set up to cache all the submissions.

Being a Facebook member I stumbled across the page. Yes it was good to see people being able to use their freedom of speech however the discussions quickly turned ugly. Blatant verbal attacks on Muslims and Islam soon followed (after all who else but Islamaphobics could devise such horrific images of God’s Messenger). Videos were also posted of vandals vandalizing a L.A. area Masjid. I and others quickly reported the page as hateful and went about our business. Our efforts paid off, I am glad that they have changed their tune, that I appreciate. Let the light in my peeps it’s good for you, the word of God delivered through his messengers whether it be Moses Jesus Mohammed (peace be upon them all) are for your benefits. Live by them and you will find success in this world and the hereafter, God bless.

Woot #3: Bomb Scare
With a fizz and a pop the city of New York was in a tizzy. Hey I am a New Yorker I am glad the car bomb didn’t go off but this is not something to get jittery about. Get jittery about actual explosions day in and day out limbs flying all over the place. Long time readers might remember my stay in Karachi and my near nervous breakdown because of the unrelenting violence surrounding me. (They will also remember out of character remarks on private forums and emails. Again I am ashamed it cost me their friendship something I regret, but life goes on).

The thing that struck me about this case was the perpetrator. He was Pakistani-American (like me) and came from a wealthy and well educated family (like me) he had a wife (like me) and kids and nice house in the suburbs (something I aspire to). He had it all everything he had worked for was finally his. And to throw it all away for a hopeless cause? It just seems absurd. While politicians and the media want blood I feel sorry for the guy. Who got a hold of him? Who brainwashed him? Who funded his exploits? Who indeed? As my father (God bless his soul and may Allah grant him paradise, Ameen) always use to say only time will tell. When the current power structure is long gone and their powerbase will no longer be threatened by the opposition our future generations will come to know the truth. Viable evidence will surface exposing, who were the real evil doers and who were the real victims.

On the most part peeps from my community condemn the attempted attack, heck I do too. I like traveling to time square and don’t want to come back in a body bag. (Remember guys I grew up in this crazy town and it has given a lot to me and my family) But what we fear the most is backlash. Do I fear it on a personal basis, no. Most of the people I deal with on a day to day basis are reasonable, friendly folks. No one has said anything to me even though I am sporting facial hair these days (just a social experiment will be shaving it off soon). Most folks mistake me for Hispanic. That’s cool my rudimentary High School Spanish adds to the façade. But what worries me the most is our modestly dressed women, they can’t pass of as senoritas with their Hijabs. Plus our kids are being taunted at school. So yeah there is backlash but subdued for the moment.

So that’s that, the perfect storm has come and gone the woots are in and I am sleepy time to say my prayers and head off to bed. God be with you my dear readers. Peace and love to all.

Our Army Wives

2010-04-18T13:44:00.007-04:00

(click for larger image)

YEAH, WE'VE GOT GUMPTION TOO

read about his exploits here

Tax time!

2010-04-15T16:35:00.002-04:00

I filed a tax return for the first time in my life. Previously this time of year was spent at my dad's office helping out the local community with their tax issues. This time around I was the one doing the filing. This is great as it shows more responsibility being taken by me and that I am indeed earning a paycheck.

Plus the refund was very generous. I do realize that was because of my low income but hey low income is better then no income. The refund plus tax credit was so generous I am inclined to think uncle sam is trying to win my heart and mind. If he really wants to seal the deal how about letting my wife enter the country, that would be sweet.

Retro goodness

2010-04-11T17:07:00.003-04:00

Shedding light on a dark tale

2010-03-28T13:01:00.006-04:00

"History will not judge us kindly" -former Attorney General John Ashcroft after a meeting at the White House on torture.

Most Americans are not aware of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui but it should be known that her plight is another dark chapter in America's "War on Terror". This ranks with the attrocities committed at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo and numerous other war crimes all committed under the name of "National Security". For the most part the media protrays her as blood thirsty terrorist who seeks to kill all Americans. Which is hard to swallow once you meet her family

This is the time for Americans to take back their country. If they do not want their legacy to be one bloody war after another, they need to show justice in this case and others. Fear of the outside world or distrusting people with different points of view and beliefs will get this great nation no where. This day Sunday March 28, 2010, commemerates the seventh anniversary of the day that Pakistani neuroscientist Dr. Aafia Siddiqui and her three young children were reportedly abducted in Karachi.

Supporters have deemed this day Aafia Siddiqui Day. We have launched a worldwide protest for justice join us and be heard!

More woah!

2010-03-25T15:01:00.005-04:00

I don't know this person, first time I heard of her. But...woah! I don't know why people have it in for Muslims so much. It seems no matter what 1 billion members of humanity do they are always demonized. People should not be duped by political agendas that only seek to gain more power for themselves by feeding off of the unfounded fears of others.

I feel for the sister in the clip, it times like these I wish I was back in the MSA.

Ensign Report...

2010-03-23T16:47:00.006-04:00

Can you tell I was watching Star Trek last night? It was on SyFy, during commercials they said SGU was coming back in April. I hope they worked on better stories this time around.

Anyways you may notice updates to the sidebar. Our rupee meter feature a shiny 2 rupee coin, to commemorate over 6200 hits! They used to be bills but thanks to devaluation of the currency they had to go. Some new links in the tech biz blog roll, for you perusal. New blogs have all been recommended by the IEEE Computer Society, so you know they're good.

My game development project is coming along nicely. I only get the weekend to work on it, thanks to my day job. I should have screenshots for you when they're ready. So that's about it, leave a comment if you want to. I wont bite, some would say that I am still the same old guy you befriended.

UPDATE: We hit 6300 over the weekend so you guessed it a shiny new 1 rupee coin. which looks a lot like a penny plus it has almost the same value. Talk about working for peanuts!

UPDATE 2: We hit 6400, part of which is just me editing the site, so two shiny 2 rupee coins for your viewing pleasure. This is along the tinker bell principle the more hits the more this site stays alive. Speaking of sites Sadisoft got a boost over the weekend. I bought a nifty new domain name for it click on the logo at the bottom to explore more.

Plus UCF logo had to come down. I can no longer identify with my former online friends our political ideological viewpoints are just to far apart for any kind of reconciliation. The same thing happened in high school but I managed to remain on friendly terms with my acquaintances. In its place is a cool graphic with the shahadath on it. This serves as the first pillar of our faith as Muslims. The graphic has a very borgish feel to it which is appropriate because many westeners find the religion alien and hostile. I am just going with that sentiment to hook them in and show them the reality.

New additions to the community ring, my little sister (what if) takes you on a journey into her inner mind. She loves punk rock and being gloomy her writing reflects that. Plus an old friend from college is a freelance journalist and a blogger check her out at Afrah Jamal. Plus Yusuf Islam is cranking out the tunes once again check out what he is up to at Jamal Records (Political Activism blog roll). And who says Muslims aren't funny Baba Ali has something to say about that, check him out. Peace y'all.

UPDATE 3: We hit 6500, graphic updated in celebration. Hey it's not much but every bit counts. I attribute the last 50 or so hits to my explosive expose and my commenting on FB and other blogs here's to social networking!

Smurfs!

2010-03-08T15:32:00.003-05:00

So get this I had a Sunday to myself. Something that I love to relish. I decided to spend my hard earned time flipping through TV channels (I paid for them and I damn will flip through them). When I happened to come across a smurfs episode. Growing up in the 80's I had a vague recollection of these tiny blue people.

I Didn't know any of their names (only papa smurf he stood out with his beard and red cap). Usually when I revisit an old show from my childhood my child memories clash with my adult memories. Usually the show is too childish to hold any water. I was fearing the worst when I settled in to watch the show. To my suprise I found myself sitting through the whole thing. Some how the fantasy world they created was interesting enough to keep my attention. Plus I really cared about the characters, so I wanted to know what happened next. I am glad that in this instance my younger self's taste in entertainment still held true.

My High School!

2010-02-24T21:13:00.002-05:00

Holy crap! It's a birds eye view of my highschool. I got this picture from a friend on facebook. I didn't recognize it at first but some prominent features stuck out. And then I was like holy crap it's my highschool! I never realized how big it was! This picture is from the 80's I went during the 90's. Lot's of good friends and memories were made here. I mostly hung out with the geeks in the library. Plus I first caught the programming bug when I took my first comp sci courses.

Didn't like gym too much got excused during ramadan "You wouldn't want me fainting now do you". Plus got my self excused from swimming classes "Can't wear shorts!" oh what else we started a Muslim Student Association and skipped out on the prom. All in all we created our own high school experience. If the price we paid was being outcasts so be it.

Picture day!

2010-02-16T11:57:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures that my big sis sent me, from Houston. It's my nephew striking a pose for picture day. He goes to a private school and is already learning about ancient Egypt while only in Pre-school. They're also learning about their shapes in Arabic. Whatever happened to cookies and milk and nap time? Well best of luck little man, when are you going to college?

new links

2010-02-09T21:52:00.002-05:00

Check out the side bar for some new links. Under the tech biz we have IGDA. A forum for game developers (yes I am getting serious about my game, its based on the universe I created in my fiction...shhh)

And under political activism we have Sufi News. Which share current events in the world of the sufis. Also if you are following the Afia trials (which is the equivalant of the OJ trial for the Pakistani community) you'll know they have reached a verdict. Many have cried foul, on the most part I agree with the outcry but don't have a strong conviction in the matter and can be swayed either way. Although I do think the government is trying to cover up attempted rape with a bucket load of crap.

Drink this read that

2010-02-09T21:32:00.004-05:00

One of the few exports from Karachi that I am proud of, Pakola Ice Cream Soda has been around for along time. I am glad to see the green colored fizzy drink has followed me all the way to New York. I walked into Patel brothers while meeting with my lawyer in Jackson Heights, when I came across this beauty. Amid the din of bollywood songs playing in the background, I knew had to have one.

And while am at it I recommend this book:

I heard about while watching Geo TV. A very popular cable news channel from the motherland. I don't get it at my apartment but I was over at my uncle's house and happened to catch the segment where the author Salman Ahmad (founder of the rock band Junoon) was plugging his new book. The message, bringing the US closer to the Muslim world (which is what I try to do here), appealed to me. I got my copy off of Amazon dot com and I must say I love it. Just the first chapter alone was enough to blow me away. And I can really relate with Salman. He too has been ping-ponging back forth between NY and Pakistan. Trying to fit into American life while conveying his new found Western ideals to his brethren.

Fear mongers will have you believe the current crisis is clash of civilizations, Salman will tell you its only a clash of cultures which can be transcended with an electric riff. Amen brother.

Life as it happens

2010-02-05T09:57:00.004-05:00

I am a huge late night fan. And try to catch letterman, leno, conan whenever I can. Naturally I've been following the whole late night fiasco over at NBC. My verdict is that Leno is acting selfish and should have bowed at. This way he could have salvaged his reputation and been the bigger man. Now he just seems like a jerk, I won't be watching his show when he returns to his old time slot. Go team coco!

One good thing that came out of this is an important life lesson. I think we can all learn from Conan.

touching good bye

I also felt emotional as he said his good bye. A lot has happened in my life and its easy for me to be cynical. But as conando has said you never get what you want out of life but if your kind and not cynical amazing things will happen. Well those are words to live by.

UPDATE:
After being fired for the first time from a job. (just six months in btw) I can really relate with Conan and what he had to go through. His mention of a toxic environment that made it uncomfortable to perform in rings true with me. The last few days leading up to my forced resignation were terrible. But again I wish my former co-workers well. Besides when one door closes another opens. This is true in my situation as I got a better paying job which allows me to support myself and my widowed mother. But please let conan tell you what he thinks.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Woah!

2010-02-05T09:51:00.004-05:00

I was on the subway the other day. Trying to get home. When an odd smell happened to waft past me. At first I thought it must be something on the floors or on the seat. I looked around trying to identify what it could be. Seeing nothing I looked around and saw a hobo off in the corner of the car. Now my first thought was that no one could smell that bad. But other passengers were also looking his way and giving him peculiar looks.

Now this poor soul was oblivious to his state of affairs (mental problems, drunk or a combination of the two). And was happily undressing himself at this point I had to look away. I was revolted and retched a couple of times. I couldn't get off the train fast enough. The whole incident bothered me and I can't stop thinking about the hobo. I hope he gets the help he needs.

UPDATE: Apparently I am not the only one who had a run in with the potent kind

What's special about today?

2010-01-21T13:56:00.002-05:00

Well for one thing its my birthday. Happy birthday to me. It's kinda scary because I am that much closer to my 30's. For most of you that's not a big deal because you are in your thirties or beyond. But for me approaching a new age bracket has me thinking about how far I've come professionaly. Domesticaly I believe I am doing fine. My budding new relationship with my splendid wife is coming along nicely. Of course we keep in touch only via email or phone. I wonder where our relationship will be when we're living together.

Anyways friends have been giving me birthday wishes on facebook. plus a couple of relatives have called in. Which is great but you know I don't have much planned for my b-day. Anyways thanks for dropping by send me a birthday wish if you want. Okay then buh-by.

Trivia

2010-01-01T21:21:00.001-05:00

Can you guess what the Pakistani rupees to the right represent? I'll give you a hint...the total sum is tied with hit counter.

Damn! I said too much

A look back at how it all began

2010-01-01T19:20:00.006-05:00

Reasons why I took up blogging:
Anarchy

Crackdown

Aftermath

"The Democratic Process"

Powder Keg

And of course the companion montage

Reasons why I continue:
T Minus 10
Surge 2.0
The less these acts are glorified the better.

IDK’s Person of the year

2009-12-18T07:34:00.000-05:00

With Time magazines recent announcement of its person of the year (a banker no less). America’s preoccupation with the almighty dollar becomes even more apparent. Arguably the chairman of the Federal Reserve commands considerable influence over the lives of US Citizens, more so in tough economic circumstances. However it can be said that these influences are abstract and esoteric in nature.

With my far maligned worldview my choice of person of the year isn’t on the mainstream media’s radar. However my person of the year has had a real and tangible influence on my life. Pakistan is a savage land and no more is this made more apparent than in it politics. At times reminiscent of the mob wars of a bygone Chicago politics in the land of the pure can get ugly. That’s why very few politicians rise above the muck and manage to take a respectable position in society. Among these is the late Senator Syed Mazhar Ali.

A civil engineer by profession he is responsible for the township in which my late father built his home and in which my mother now resides in. It’s a splendid community to live in and has been featured as a blog post on IDK. Well run municipalities such as Gulshan-e-Maymar are rare in Pakistan and have spawned many copycats who try to match its excellence. Proper housing is sorely needed by the weary citizens of Karachi and I salute any effort to address this need.

The good senator didn’t make it on my list just because he planned a model community. It’s what he built in the heart of the town that really gets my motor going. In its heyday my alma mater the Karachi Institute of Information Technology offered world class education in the area of software development. Its beautifully constructed campus offered students a sanctuary where they could flourish as individuals and as professionals. I made numerous lifetime friends in that place and always have fond memories when I recall my time there.

Apparently in a place where illiteracy is the norm not even education is spared by the crosshairs of the savage land. A spat between the senator and the Higher Education Commission managed to get the university blacklisted. Parents ignorant of the quality of education at the institute kept their kids away and soon attendance dropped. Compounding this problem was the early demise of the senator. His death had a tremendous impact on the staff and faculty. I remember our director (his little brother) an MIT educated luminary delivering the tragic news with teary eyes. A Quran-khani was shortly arranged and the holy book was recited many times over in his honor by the students. With no strongman championing for the University the establishment had to close its doors.

So there you have it my person of the year.

Here's to nifty partnerships

2009-12-05T00:52:00.004-05:00

I've been meaning to get Metallica's latest album (they finally won a grammy). Just in case you're thinking that this is just some bandwagon bullshit it's not. An old highschool buddy of mine got me hooked on the band a long time ago I've been following them since. The track that's been getting the most press is this jewel:

The Day That Never Comes

Stellar song and drives home an importan point of view. Which got me thinking...does the Pakistani music scene have anything to offer? The answer is a most definite yes. I've already introduced Junoon to the readers. There considered to be the grand daddies of Pakistani Rock now here's a word from a much younger rock band. With their piece "Waqt".

Now Waqt is the Urdu word for time. The song's message is that don't achieve your goals by unlawful means because at the end it will never work out. Over the years the term Waqt has become synonymous with charity work. References to this work is also made in the song which is pretty cool. Can these two bands ever jam together? Or maybe forge a partnership, I Don't Know you be the judge.

This is with reference to Obama's speech last Tuesday. Allocating 30,000 US troops for Afghanistan.

I turn the engine but the engine doesn't turn...

2009-12-02T03:27:00.004-05:00

Well I downloaded the game engine (what? you think I am gonna make this from scratch...pshh). It's based on the java language still using Netbeans as my IDE. So far I got it to do this:

Gaming experience is off the hook you can actually walk past that there tree. More sophisticated gameplay will follow soon.

[tangent]One of the great things I like about living in America is that it's a great place to think in[/tangent]

UPDATE: Going with a scripting language called Alice rather than dabble with reams and reams of java code. Maybe in the next version.

So what does the logo mean?

2009-11-27T15:42:00.002-05:00

Visitors may have noticed the new IDK logo. It's got the first incarnation of the Starship Enterprise speeding away at light speed. While the title of the blog slowly comes into view, you may notice that the font is Klingon Dagger. What it means for me is a change of direction before I let readers into my personal life as I chronicled a year in my life. From my enagement to special occasions I shared all.

At the time I was hiding a terrible amount of personal grief. My dad had been diagnosed with cancer, the thought of losing him and having to support my mother along with a new family scared me. To be honest I didn't handle the situation well I became a nervous wreck which became apparent by my actions and my words.

People reprimanded me in whatever way they thought was appropriate. Regardless I have come to terms with my father's loss and I continue on. Responsibilities that previously weren't mine fell upon my shoulders. To most they seem mundane paying the bills providing support to an aging mother, basically becoming head of a household. But for me its a brave new world.

Having recovered from my emotional trauma I forge ahead. A constant source of strength for me is my wife. She's had a tremendous influence in my life. I am rediscovering my religion. I know some of you would like me to be more liberal but that just doesn't work for me. I feel at ease with myself when I practice my religion the way it suppose to be practiced, with no adulterations or compromises.

So where does that leave me and my readers. Well I suppose the window into a different culutre will no longer be there. It's just to personal for me to have to share everything going on in my life. I am cutting back on writing and trying to focus my energy on the game I mentioned before. To be honest my motivation has been waning thanks to my new job and responsibilities. I much rather plop down in front of the TV and watch leno then fry my brains some more pouring over source code.

I lurk on other UCF sites and find Jim's views into the Fort Hood shooting, insightful. Plus my heart felt congratulations to Matt on his new addition. Just think of me as the rogue UCFer, Peace.

Islam in America

2009-11-11T20:15:00.002-05:00

The writing bug has bitten me since my last post and I want to share something else. For the most part people understand that Muslims are peaceful people and a few bad apples are giving them a bad name. But then what? For me and other like minded individuals its simply not enough to tolerate Islam. It would give me tremendous pleasure if others embraced Islam. That's why stories like these are so inspiring:

Long time, no see

2009-11-11T17:45:00.003-05:00

I haven't been hanging around here for awhile. For that matter I haven't been hanging around in cyberspace for that much either. The biggest reason for a sudden drop in writing is laziness and general sense of no creativity. That's thanks to a back breaking job that sucks up most of my time and leaves me feeling like a zombie at the end of the day.

When I am online my time is spent communicating with GF via email. We miss each other a lot and check in once or twice a day. Right now I am working on paperwork to get her processed for immigration. I am using a lawyer that's been a friend of the family for a long time. The other portion of time is spent looking for a job.

NO response as of yet everyone is sitting on there collective hands. The closest I got was a phone interview but that was only because of a close contact. He rejected me because of a lack of experience, which isn't really my fault seeing how I just got out of school. Now I have to rely on strangers to pick me out of a dozen or more strangers for a job interview.

They say not to get discouraged but that's easier said then done. I intend to to get discouraged and already have. For the moment I am resigned to my lowly job as a clerk at my uncle's pharmacy while I look for work online during the weekends. I am living alone which means I am able to make ends meet on my meager salary. What worries me is later on down the road when my expenses increase I'll be needing more than I have right now.

Anyways that's why having faith comes in handy while others would take their lives in dire circumstances I tend go nuts, recover and then figure out what to do.

To and fro

2009-09-21T09:21:00.003-04:00

Well the month of ramadan came and went. I missed one day of fasting and will make it up on the weekend (it's just more convenient that way). I was at my uncle's house where all my relatives gathered for dinner. We all offered a special prayer for my father. I missed him and my wife (we were in constant email and phone contact) on this occasion. Afterwards we watched a football game. (here's how other Muslims celebrated)

Now it's back to work. As some members of the UCF may know I am conducting a job search and looking for work in the IT job market. With the way the economy is it's taking a longer time then usual. I am lucky enough to be offered a job at my uncle's pharmacy I am making enough to make ends meet. However this only temporary I need to run with the wolf pack.

Also a note on commenting...why aren't you guys doing it? The reaction checkboxes are there for you to let me know if what I am saying doesn't rub you the right way. Otherwise you can comment in the normal way.

I have to nail something

2009-09-06T07:25:00.001-04:00

So get this me and GF have this like…two year plan right. Part of which entails us getting married, her getting an associate degree and us rendezvousing back home after a splendid wedding reception. Now the funny thing is that the stars are in alignment and it just so happens that we managed to get married. But it was only on paper and before you could say Mr. & Mrs. I whisked myself away from her loving embrace to go find work for myself.

Me being the son of immigrants that means I had to return to New York and try my luck with the job market. So far it’s being going good I only get rejected once a week. I’ve been telling people that I am on my own for the first time in my life. Of course the gravity of the situation never hit me until my father passed away. Now what? My dad has always been there for me always telling me what to do, what not to do and what I should have done or heaping blame on me for things he shouldn’t have done.

“God damn it why did you pull the circuit before turning off the power? Now look what you made me do to the wiring.” God bless his soul we had such good times together now all of sudden he’s gone. But I am so used to having a father who can I introduce to others as my father? Maybe a poster of Dr. Phil with big block letters saying “READ” will do it?

At any rate the gravity of my situation has finally hit me…I have become one of those…err…how you say “responsible adults”. I am responsible for myself and have to answer to myself. Usually myself doesn’t care much about what I do “Pulled the circuit before turning off the power, aye? Right on!”. Which is why I am so glad I check in with my wife every now and then “Pulled the circuit before turning off the power, aye?...What’s @#$@# wrong with you? Do you know what that does to the @#%@# wiring...@#@#(@!”

Now how am I going to introduce my mother and my sisters? Hmmm I’ll figure it out I still have a year left.

Star Trek!

2009-09-03T20:17:00.002-04:00

I've been meaning to watch the new star trek movie for the longest time. But never seem to get around to it. I had been keeping up with the production news and fawning over movie trailer as soon as they were available. As a die hard fan I was anxious to watch and finally got a chance.

Usually I buy a DVD of a movie that I want to watch, rarely do I go to the theaters. However this time things were different. I screened the film on a flight from Doha to NY. I really liked how they revisualized the original series (the new warp effects were cool...ping!). But when you find out that this is all just happening in an alternate dimension its kind of a let down. We invest so much emotion into what's happening to the characters all to find out it really doesn't matter because they're not the real crew.

Star trek movies have mostly relied on the TOS & TNG crew to carry the franchise onto the silver screen. I would have liked to seen Paramount take a chance on some of the other series, perhaps a tie in with DS9?

The great thing about Star Trek is that it really does have universal appeal. If humanity is to unite for a common good then all must be represented. DS9 featured the first black captain, VOY featured the first female captain. And now with the release of Star Trek we have our first South Asian captain. Captain Robau's screentime is limited but it shows that the Federation was progressive enough to include a representative from this major race of humans.

The best part was finding out that the character was protrayed by a Muslim actor. Faran Tahir did us proud by securing this role. It was good to see a Muslim being something else besides a terrorist. A chance to show that we too can faithfully serve humanity as we have done in the past and continue to do so today. Of course Hollywood does not offer too many positive roles and quickly used Faran's talents to protray a baddie in Iron Man. Faran talks about his two major appearances so far.

Find more videos like this on Multipleverses

And Ahmed Ahmed from Axis of Evil explains why Muslim actors take on such lousy roles (2:55) plus some other explosvie issues.

Major milestones achieved so far

2009-08-20T11:45:00.002-04:00

MILESTONE 1
Got Married to GF. But are unable to live together :(

MILESTONE 2
Managed to complete my masters

MILESTONE 3
Moved back to NY

And on a totally different note I am sad to announce that my father passed away last week. He lost his ongoing battle with cancer and will be missed.

I am taking a break

2009-07-07T22:04:00.004-04:00

Not blogging much these days. Taking a break from writing probably start again later on. Right now I am reading some of the books my big sis left behind after she moved out of our parent's house. Daniele Steele anyone?

Also I am planning my move back to Queens. It'll be nice to head back to my old stomping grounds. Hopefully I'll be able to land a job within a month or two.

I've got some loose ends to tie up before I'll be done with my Thesis. They want me to make some changes so I am busy doing that. I've been working on this project for so long I just want it to end so that I can move on.

Also as far as wedding related news is concerened I was on hand to help my older cousin get married (second time, we're hoping this one will stick). As far as my wedding is concerned we're doing a court marriage for now. I need paperwork to start GF's immigration process. Later on when her Visa comes through and I am able to sponsor her. I plan to swoop her off her feet with a fancy shmancy ceremony.

So that's what I am doing with my time. c u on the flip side.

War! What is it good for?

2009-06-22T02:47:00.010-04:00

The ramped up fighting in the province of Surhud (North West Frontier) has displaced several thousand people from their homes. They survive as refugees in their own country. My university has taken up a collection to aid our fellow Pakistanis as well as other organizations both foreign and domestic. But by the looks of it we’re in over our heads.

Pakistani children wait for hours in line for dinner at the Yar Hussain camp June 1, 2009 in Swabi, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

Pakistani girls stand near their tents at night May 31, 2009 in Jalozai camp, 15 k from Peshawar, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

A displaced girl looks out from her tent in Shah Mansour refugee camp, in northwest Pakistan, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A girl stands next to her tent as wind and rain pound the massive tent city June 2, 2009 at Jalozai camp, 15km from Peshawar, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

A boy looks away as grieving family members and friends surround the casket of Umer Amin, age 23, at his funeral June 7, 2009 in the village of Phoolgrah, just outside of Islamabad, Pakistan. Amin was a security policeman killed during the previous night's bomb blast attacking a police emergency helpline. The suicide blast which killed two police officers and wounding 3 was the latest in a series of attacks on civilian and security targets seen as retribution by the Taliban for Pakistan's and on-going military operations. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

A Pakistani girl is held by her mother as Doctor Adnan Khan listens to her chest at a medical tent June 2, 2009 at Jalozai camp, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

Bena, a 12-year-old internally displaced Sikh girl, fleeing military operations in the Swat valley region, bends over to kiss a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikh faith, while seeking refuge in the Sikh temple Gurdwara Siri Punja Sahib in Hassan Abdal, Pakistan on May 31, 2009. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)

Pakistani children wait for hours in line for dinner at the Yar Hussain camp June 1, 2009 in Swabi, Pakistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)

During the cold war Pakistan played host to Afghan refugees fleeing the fighting in their country. They to were allowed to setup refugee camps and fend for themselves. However with no relief in sight and no recourse those tent cities soon became permanent establishments. Soon brick houses were erected and the refugees became permanent residents.

Cricket anyone?

2009-06-22T02:44:00.004-04:00

Not a big fan of cricket or any sport for that matter but this is too noteworthy not to mention.

We are the champions

It’s father’s day!

2009-06-22T02:44:00.003-04:00

First off I want to acknowledge my father. He had a tough year but he sailed through it with his usual charm and solid footing.

Here’s a more presidential look at father’s day.
This is what Obama has to say

And here’s a photograph that caused quite a stir. Novice politician Bilawal Bhutto is getting a lesson in international discourse with his father at his side.

Addressing the php bulletin board controversy

2009-06-18T12:02:00.002-04:00

First of what’s an uber-secret online organization trying to take over the way we communicate online without a little controversy? I mean come on playing nice nice all the time gets boring. When I got the news that my password had been revoked I must admit I felt sad. But I saw it coming. I had no say in who was being inducted into the UCF. That was partly do the fact that there is a significant time delay between the time I receive a message and the time that most of the UCF will receive the message. The other dilemma was that I don’t know these new people and couldn’t judge on their ucfness one way or the other.

I had a blast chatting in our ultra secret chat room during elections. It felt great to connect with my fellow Americans at such a momentous occasion. Then the recession kicked in. Most of you guys are middle management and needed to speak about some confidential stuff from work. I know how that is with my whole “I need advice” post. As far as professional contacts only one or two UCFers are in my field and only a couple are approachable enough to actually guide me. After that I connect with UCF at an intellectual level. Mostly storytelling and dreams about getting published. You guys are great and I love sharing my life with you. And I love reading about your lives. That’s how we connect and have gone from net pals to actual friends.

The problem is that my problems are not your problems. My major concerns with regard to the new administration is related towards immigration, homeland security (specifically profiling based on religion and country of origin), foreign policy and then the economy. What’s more I had to live through some of the things you hear about in the news. That gives me a unique perspective which requires me to hold on to my faith that much harder. At these times I don’t hesitate to remove the sugar coating off of my beliefs and state them assertively. It’s a coping technique.

Plus at the time my father was diagnosed with cancer. I didn’t mention this at the time because he wouldn’t like his medical condition being discussed online. As he has grown accustomed to his situation and successfully completed his treatment he is on the mend. My house was in utter chaos. And on top of that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan declared war on the Taliban. I’ve got fighter jets flying over my house patrolling the sky. This is the sort of thing that really freaks you out.

Many of the conservations going on the bulletin board were irrelevant to me. Some of it was due to culture (this is the first time I heard of Apple Butter folks:) other times it was due to age differences. Many of you are married (or have been married) and have children. I just got engaged and still feel ecstatic. I don’t plan on coming down for awhile. But the hardest part was hearing that you guys don’t trust me and feel that you need to protect yourself from me.

That’s horrible! I work with special interest groups that work very hard to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims in particular. If I gave that impression then I have failed and I am very sorry for upsetting you in that way. From my understanding you guys expected me to change my tone after the death of a UCFers spouse. Truth be told the news of this person’s death was a shock. My limited exposure to your customs and tradition prohibited me from acting in a way that was familiar to you. Again I apologize for any alarming actions.

I come from a reformist background lately I’ve been changing my mindest and moving towards a more moderate brand of Islam. However my reformist upbringings are hard to do away with. Hell we would be Amish if Islam didn't encourage us to learn and our societies didn't promote the spirit of Innovation. The only engagement with mainstream society was during six hours of school. Then I would head on home and do my homework. During the summers we would either go to Pakistan for two months because my mom had to meet her sisters or I would help my dad at his accounting firm which mostly catered to Desis.

My parents instilled in me a deep love for my faith. Since I am a practicing Muslim many aspects of American Culture made it difficult for me to engage with people “After Hours”. At the time I didn’t mind the religion of Islam is so vast that not even a lifetime of learning is enough to grasp it fully. So I immersed myself in studying the various Interpretations of the Quran given to us by many imminent scholars from the past. Plus the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has always been a guiding hand in my life.

Of course I am no prophet (God forbid) I am just a dude with many flaws. That’s why I struggle to better myself each day. So hopefully you can find it in your heart to forgive and can trust me again. This is what bothers me the most about this whole fiasco, losing the faith of friends.

So how’s your relationship going?

2009-06-18T08:07:00.002-04:00

We’re off to a ghoulish start

MJ's Thriller

And while you’re at it check these out.

MJ's Black and White

I love me some cheesy goodness

No one ever says they want to be a blogger when they grow up

2009-06-11T02:28:00.001-04:00

Well now a days the kids might be saying that. But ever since high school I had the crazy dream of creating my very own video game. I took computer programming courses in the hopes I would be working for Westwood studios right out of school, never happened. I continued on increasing my technical skills and wasting my engineering talent on one shmucky project after the other. Sure I got paid but a sizable part inside of me died each time I whored my abilities for money. You got what you wanted what about what I want?

Since I have a family to support I'll still need a day job (where I can win, like I used to). But as The Programmer’s Prenup clearly states I must compile no matter what. That's why I am pursuing my dream of creating some kick ass digital entertainment. This is going to be a pet project that I am going to do in my spare time. Mostly to keep my programming skills honed. Plus this is a great way for me to continue what I love doing, manufacturing art. I've created a video game of my very own back in my undergrad years. It was a flight simulator for a UAV. I enjoyed working on that project and wish to do something similar in the java language. I'll be using Netbeans as my IDE. The concept is already worked out but I am not going to tell you because it's a secret.

Stay tuned for more updates...

I am making a VIDEOGAME!!!

2009-06-09T15:00:00.001-04:00

More details as they become available.

Parts I liked are highlighted

2009-06-04T09:24:00.004-04:00

Text of President Barack Obama's speech at Cairo University, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions.
___
I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum.

We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world - tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.

Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11th, 2001 and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and Western countries, but also to human rights. This has bred more fear and mistrust.

So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, and who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.

I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles - principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. No single speech can eradicate years of mistrust, nor can I answer in the time that I have all the complex questions that brought us to this point. But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Quran tells us, Be conscious of God and speak always the truth. That is what I will try to do - to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.

Part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk. As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith.

As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam - at places like Al-Azhar University - that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra; our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires; timeless poetry and cherished music; elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.

I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote, The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims. And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our Universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Quran that one of our Founding Fathers - Thomas Jefferson - kept in his personal library.

So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.

But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words - within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum: Out of many, one.

Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President. But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores - that includes nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that are higher than average.

Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state of our union, and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That is why the U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.

So let there be no doubt: Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations - to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.
Of course, recognizing our common humanity is only the beginning of our task. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our people. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead; and if we understand that the challenges we face are shared, and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.

For we have learned from recent experience that when a financial system weakens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere. When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations. When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. And when innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience. That is what it means to share this world in the 21st century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human beings.

This is a difficult responsibility to embrace. For human history has often been a record of nations and tribes subjugating one another to serve their own interests. Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be shared.

That does not mean we should ignore sources of tension. Indeed, it suggests the opposite: we must face these tensions squarely. And so in that spirit, let me speak as clearly and plainly as I can about some specific issues that I believe we must finally confront together.
The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all of its forms.

In Ankara, I made clear that America is not - and never will be - at war with Islam. We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security. Because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as President to protect the American people.

The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals, and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al Qaida and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice, we went because of necessity. I am aware that some question or justify the events of 9/11. But let us be clear: al Qaida killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet Al Qaeda chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach. These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with.

Make no mistake: we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict. We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.

That's why we're partnering with a coalition of forty-six countries. And despite the costs involved, America's commitment will not weaken. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths - more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam. The Holy Quran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind. The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism - it is an important part of promoting peace.

We also know that military power alone is not going to solve the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is why we plan to invest $1.5 billion each year over the next five years to partner with Pakistanis to build schools and hospitals, roads and businesses, and hundreds of millions to help those who have been displaced. And that is why we are providing more than $2.8 billion to help Afghans develop their economy and deliver services that people depend upon.

Let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible. Indeed, we can recall the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said: I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be.

Today, America has a dual responsibility: to help Iraq forge a better future - and to leave Iraq to Iraqis. I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no bases, and no claim on their territory or resources. Iraq's sovereignty is its own. That is why I ordered the removal of our combat brigades by next August. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically-elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July, and to remove all our troops from Iraq by 2012. We will help Iraq train its Security Forces and develop its economy. But we will support a secure and united Iraq as a partner, and never as a patron.

And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter our principles. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.

So America will defend itself respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities which are also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer.
The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.

America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.

Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed - more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction - or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews - is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.

On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations - large and small - that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.

(APPLAUSE)

For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It is easy to point fingers - for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.

(APPLAUSE)

That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them - and all of us - to live up to our responsibilities.

Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.

Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.

At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.

(APPLAUSE)

Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.

Finally, the Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.
America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs. We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.

Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together.

(APPLAUSE)

... as in the story of Isra.

(APPLAUSE)

... as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed -- peace be upon them -- joined in prayer.

(APPLAUSE)

The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.

(APPLAUSE)

This issue has been a source of tension between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran. For many years, Iran has defined itself in part by its opposition to my country, and there is indeed a tumultuous history between us. In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically- elected Iranian government. Since the Islamic Revolution, Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians. This history is well known. Rather than remain trapped in the past, I have made it clear to Iran's leaders and people that my country is prepared to move forward. The question, now, is not what Iran is against, but rather what future it wants to build.

It will be hard to overcome decades of mistrust, but we will proceed with courage, rectitude and resolve. There will be many issues to discuss between our two countries, and we are willing to move forward without preconditions on the basis of mutual respect. But it is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.

I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. And any nation - including Iran - should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the Treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.

The fourth issue that I will address is democracy.

(APPLAUSE)

I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.

That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.

There is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear: governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments - provided they govern with respect for all their people.

This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they are out of power; once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others. No matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power: you must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise; you must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party. Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.

The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom.

Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshipped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country. That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it is being challenged in many different ways.

Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of another's. The richness of religious diversity must be upheld - whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt. And fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well, as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.

Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which we protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat.

Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit - for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.
Indeed, faith should bring us together. That is why we are forging service projects in America that bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews. That is why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's Interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations. Around the world, we can turn dialogue into Interfaith service, so bridges between peoples lead to action - whether it is combating malaria in Africa, or providing relief after a natural disaster.

The sixth issue that I want to address is women's rights.

I know there is debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality. And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.

Now let me be clear: issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia, we have seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead. Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, there is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear. Governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments, provided they govern with respect for all their people.
This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they're out of power. Once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others.

(APPLAUSE)

So no matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who would hold power. You must maintain your power through consent, not coercion. You must respect the rights of minorities and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise. You must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party.

Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.

(AUDIENCE MEMBER SHOUTS)

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

MY REACTION:

President Obama's visit to Cairo, Egypt to address the students, faculty members and member of the media on pressing issues. Is a continuation of an important presidential tradition Teddy Roosevelt did the same during his presidency. God Bless America.