Adventures of a Newlywed Hijabi

The first of Muharram came and went and there was barely a ripple in most of our lives. There were no telephone calls wishing people happy new year, no mass email messages celebrating the advent of a new set of dates, no new year’s resolutions…really, nothing significant to mark the start of the 1429 year of the hijri calender.

This silence, at the heels of the commotion surrounding the gregorian new year, is disconcerting. The month of January actually has very little signficance. Minus the fact that it means slower sales, greater line-ups on the return/exchange counters and generally dull weather, the month really has very little to offer by way of importance.

On the other hand,  the month of Muharram has tremendous significance.  Prophet (SAW) is recorded as having referred to it as the “Month of Allah” signifying its value and importance. According to Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, it is the best of months after Ramadan for voluntary fasts. It is especially recommended that we fast on the 10th of Muharram, the day of Ashura and on the 9th OR 11th. Many prophets before Prophet Muhammad (SAW), including Prophet Nuh and Prophet Musa used to fast on this day.  Abd Allah ibn `Amr ibn al-`As (Allah be pleased with him), reported that the Prophet (SAW) said that “Whoever fasts `Ashura’ it is as if he has fasted the entire year. And whoever gives charity this day it is like the charity of an entire year.”

It is my hope and prayer that we are able to take advantage of this blessed day, this blessed month and the amazing opportunites for forgiveness and reward from Allah (SWT).

Happy New Year!

P.S: A wonderful article on the importance of the month of Muharram can be found at the following link.   

Often, upon the return of someone, the joy is celebrated in killing the fattened calf, at least linguistically speaking. This expression has found its way into modern lexicon, whether it is used in a positive joyous manner or more sarcastic meanings. This concept of killing the fattened calf actually derives from a biblical parable Gospel of Luke 15:11-32.

The story itself is pretty interesting. A father has two sons, one son leaves and squanders his wealth while the other stays by his father’s side and cares for him and his business. Eventually, the younger son returns whereupon the father welcomes him with open arms and kills the fattened calf for the feast. The older son is understandably upset and his father tells him that “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. ” (Luke 15:31-32).

The underlying meaning may be that it is important to celebrate the return of those who are lost back to the fold, whether it be the fold of family, religion, community or other. Hadithuna was intended as a community network for Muslims whereupon the voices and ideas of Muslims around the world would have an open forum. It is to this amazing community I hope to initiate a return and remain active in blogging. I do not expect a fattened calf since I am but an insignificant servant of the Almighty!

Last week, I attended a Round-table discussion organized by the EKOS Research group and sponsored by the Cross-Cultural Round-table for Security (CCRS). As a student with lots of ideas and strong opinions on the state of security in Canada, the issue of politics involving the Muslim community and the marginalization of the said community, I went in prepared for a high level of intellectual discourse and problem-solving strategies. I was ready to learn more about how CSIS, the RCMP and CBSA and the Department of Justice operate and to use that information towards building a more comprehensive strategy when it comes to dealing with various issues involving Muslims, and more broadly, involving other Canadians- our neighbors, coworkers and friends.

 I have never been more disappointed or mortified in my life as I was that day!  First of all, the ratio of adults to youth was strongly skewed. Over all, there were perhaps 5 students in a round-table gathering of 50+ people. Secondly, the ratio was awfully biased towards the South Asian and Middle Eastern community. There were perhaps 10 Caucasian and other ethnic minorities. And as expected, it was members of the South Asian and Middle Eastern communites who dominated the discussion. I wouldn’t have had a problem with that except rather than any productive thoughts and ideas, what was shared were bitter accusations and silly conjecture. It almost appeared as though the Round-table discussion was a free-for-all opportunity for these people to a) show off how politically connected and informed they were, b) lament their personal grievances against their own community (i.e. “My community calls me an apostate.”) or c) viciously attack the agency’s representative and hold them responsible for all their personal grievances. In truth, the experience made me realize the truth behind the stereotypical character of Babur in Little Mosque on the Prairie.

I am a big fan of freedom of speech and respect for everyone. However, at the end of the discussion, I wanted to go apologize to the representatives of CSIS, RCMP and CBSA. I am not an apologist. I strongly feel that there are certain issues that need to be resolved if we are to continue thriving as a nation and as a community. However, the sheer lack of etiquette and tact exercised by members of my own community left me thoroughly ashamed. Rather than working with these agencies towards a mutual goal, we were too busy hurling accusations at them and each other. Instead of coming across as a community that is knowledgeable, eloquent and politically aware, we presented ourselves as ignorant yet pompously verbose individuals. I realize that some of you may be thinking that I am being too harsh but the reality of the matter is that there were times an individual would stand up and start talking (this was during Q&A) and by the time they finished, I had no idea what they had initially started off asking. Comments, meant to be brief, were turned into 20 minute long speeches that had virtually no relevance to the topics at hand.

The Round-table experience made me realize just how important it is for the Muslim students across Canada and North America to raise their voices, to stop letting others speak for them. In retrospect, I didn’t do that at the discussion, simply because it was easier to sit there and be stupefied by the intellectual deficiency in the room than participate and have someone start screaming at me. And that, as everything else, was yet another disappointment in the round-table saga…