Understanding Islam through Poetry

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem

Assalaam alaikum!

Wow. That was my reaction to the video you are about to watch. Masha'Allah, this man's poetry gave me goose bumps and nearly brought me to tears. If you are curious about Islam, watch Boonaa Mohammed's videos on You Tube. Perhaps we should always leave the explaining up to the poets...

Enjoy.

POLL: The Results Are in Again!!!

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem


Assalaam alaikum!

Alrighty, so the results of the September poll are in! 

This month's question was: Which topic(s) would you be interested in reading more about?

This month eleven people answered and here are their responses:

-4 voters (36%) answered The Qur'an
-4 voters (36%) answered Hadith and Sunnah
-Zero voters answered The five pillars
-2 voters (18%) answered Halal slaughter (Zabihah)
-2 voters (18%) answered Marriage in Islam
-3 voters (27%) answered Women's issues
-Zero voters answered The prophets
-4 voters (36%) answered The Prophet Mohammad (SAW) specifically
-1 voter (9%) answered Comparative religion
-1 voter (9%) answered Jinn and magic
-3 voters (27%) answered Islamic hostory
-4 voters (36%) answered Islam and modern thought
-3 voters (27%) answered Nationalism and secularism
-4 voters (36%) answered Current events in Islam
-3 voters (27%) answered Terrorism

In addition, there was one vote for The five pillars, one additional vote for Marriage in Islam, one additional vote for Women's issues, two additional votes for Jinn and magic and one additional vote for Comparative religion.


I would just like to clarify that for in order for me to get accurate results in the poll, I need voters to not vote in the comments and to please vote in the poll itself, which can be found at the bottom of the blog. I have no way of knowing if the additional votes were only in the comments or if they were comments and votes in the poll.

This month's poll is the following:

What have you heard about equality in marriage in Islam?

-The husband has absolute authority over the family and home.

-The wife has absolute authority over the family and home.

-The husband has certain rights over and obligations to his family and the wife has certain rights over and obligations to her family.

-All power and obligations regarding family are shared by husband and wife.

If you have heard more than one of these things, please select the option you believe to be true!

Insha'Allah, I will have another post soon because I have two ideas for posts and it is a long weekend due to Canadian Thanksgiving! 

September 11, the "Ground Zero Mosque," and Qur'an Burning

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem


Assalaam alaikum!

Well, I'm a terrible blogger. I'm sorry about the lack of posts (for the like two people who read this - my favourite two people!!!), but school is back and life is a wee bit crazy. Please forgive me. I am going to try.

So, there was a lot of stuff going around on the 11th about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and whatnot and the idea for this post popped into my head. But, alas, school has started, so between my full course load (which includes three French classes, by the way), homework, housework, and taking care of my beautiful son (please see picture at right), my blog is sort of simmering on the back burner. Insha'Allah, I will still update it weekly, though.

Anyhow. September 11 came and went and a lot of people are sad for the lives lost and everything. Don't get me wrong - what happened was terrible and inexcusable and all the loss of life that happened was tragic. I may get some flack for this, but I think it is a little pointless for we Americans to tear off the bandaid every year and reopen the wound. I believe the time has come to quietly, respectfully move on. Those who were lost will be loved and remembered by those who knew them and the rest of the American public will always remember those horrible images that we saw in Newsweek and on TV, but let us mourn the dead in peace.

Moving right along. So, I'm not even going to go into all those conspiracy theories about bombs being planted and the CIA being involved in the attacks and this and that and the other thing. Forget it. I don't care. For the most part (not entirely, of course), Muslims who buy into these theories are probably looking for a desperate way to not have to believe that there are such embarrassing members of our ummah (community). Face it, people. Even if it weren't Muslims behind 9/11, do you really think that all people who call themselves Muslims are good? Do you think the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are completely fabricated? Please, spare me. Accept that there are bad eggs. Accept it, I say!

So, what is with this whole "Ground Zero Mosque" thingy? Why are those darn Moslems building something so close to hallowed ground? Why do they want to "stab Americans in the heart," as it were? They preach peace - so they claim - how can they be so insensitive?

First of all, let's get one thing straight. It isn't a mosque. It is a community centre. It will have a restaurant in it, as well as a prayer space. There is a mosque around there already and it has been there for years. So... what's up with all the hubbub?

Quite frankly, the only explanation I have for it is fear, ignorance, hate, and blindness (or any combination thereof). 

So, has everyone here heard of the First Amendment? Don't worry if your answer is no. I'll give you a bit of background.


In 1787 (not hijiri, obv... because that would be in the future), the Founding Fathers of America - a group of learned and (hopefully...) honourable men - all sat down together and wrote out what is now known as the American Constitution. Which, by the way, is an awesome document!


Now, these Founding Father guys wanted to make sure that everything would be pretty solid in their new Constitution because God forbid we go back to the era of King George what with the badness and such. So after they thought they had finished the Constitution, they went back and looked it over. 


Since these were the days before computers (what??), when they found mistakes or omissions, they couldn't just insert it into where it should go. So they created another document: the Bill of Rights. Within this Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments - changes - to the Constitution. Annnnnd...


"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

So, what does that mean? Well, our focus is the religion part, so I'll explain that bit. Pretty much, it means that there can be no establishment of a national religion and that the government cannot favour one religion over another, or favour religion over irreligion or vice-versa (Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v Grumet, 1994).

This, of course, means that no one can legally stop Muslims from building a community centre in Lower Manhattan simply because they are Muslim. Of course, some people tried to stop them on the grounds that they (the Muslims) were building on a historical site. Nice try.  The Landmarks Preservation Commission ruled unanimously that the site could be demolished. Probably because it is of little or no historical significance.


I have been reading through some Google headlines and apparently Muslims build mosques at places of historical conquest. I mean, there are mosques all over Spain and all over where the Islamic empire once stood! Craziness, right?


Or, not so much. There are almost 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. So yeah, there are probably a lot of mosques on sites of "conquests," as they are saying. But, umm, remember how the Muslim empire extended into Spain and stayed there for hundreds of years? Could it not be that Muslims build mosques where mosques are needed? I know, it's a crazy idea, but it just might be the case. There are Muslims praying in the streets of New York because their mosques are too small! So, don't go around telling me it's unnecessary.


So, what about this hallowed ground business? 


Okay, let's get something straight. It is NOT at Ground Zero. It is blocks away from Ground Zero. And if it is such "hallowed ground" (Sarah Palin's words, btw - this nonsense is not of my invention), then how does one explain the fast food joints, the vendors selling WTC statuettes (thereby directly profiting from the tragedy), the strip club - all of which are an equal distance from Ground Zero as the proposed community centre?


A strip club. A. Strip. Club. THAT, my friends, is not hallowed ground. That is a normal North American community functioning as any other might. And as such, there should be a place for religious practice!


Now, is it insensitive of Muslims to build a community centre there?


Well, is it insensitive to build Cathedrals in Europe? I mean, Hitler was Catholic and believed it was his holy duty to kill the Jews:

"What we must fight for is to safeguard the existence and the reproduction of our race...so that our people may mature for the fulfillment of the mission allotted it by the creator of the universe...Peoples that bastardize themselves, or let themselves be bastardized, sin against the will of eternal Providence."

This is from Mein Kampf, I believe. If you're curious to know more about it, the link above will take you to a Google Books thing. 


Also, for the atrocities committed against Jews and Muslims in the name of Catholicism during the Spanish Inquisition, and in South and Central America during Spanish colonization, there should definitely be no Catholic churches or Cathedrals there, right? No Sikh temples in India for the assassination of Indira Ghandi. No Anglican churches in England for King Henry VIII's oppression of Catholics. No Catholic churches in England due to Queen "Bloody" Mary's oppression of Protestants. No Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka. No Hindu temples in Sri Lanka. No mosques or Hindu temples in India or Pakistan or Bangladesh. No Catholic churches in Italy. No Protestant or Catholic churches in Germany. No churches, synagogues or mosques in Israel. And don't even get me started on France! In France there should not only be no Catholic or Protestant churches, but no Deist temples, no secular bodies, and no gathering place for atheists. No Catholic or Protestant churches in Ireland. No Anglican churches in Canada (no Catholic churches in Québec). No atheist places in China.


Please note, that this is not an exhaustive list. My husband says, "This is not even an exhaustive list of things I can name off the top of my head," (also, please note, atheists aren't safe either, so I don't want any of your "down with religion!!" foamy rhetoric).


So, yeah. People should pretty much not exist if we want to use such flawed reasoning. 


Also, I would actually like to say, I think there is no better place to build an Islamic community centre!! 


No, I'm serious!


In the movie Frida (excellent movie about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo), Friday says to Diego about a painting of Lenin he did:

"Whatever happens, you have aroused people. You've made them get passionate about their ideals!"


This incident has inspired a great amount of emotion in American people. While it is often quite an ugly side, as a Muslim, I like to think of it this way:


At least one person, probably more, saw this whole "mosque at Ground Zero" thing happening and thought to themselves "What kind of people would do something like that?" They then went home, researched Islam and discovered the truth about it. They then realized that it is a beautiful religion and all-encompassing way of life. They converted. They became Muslim. Alhamdulillah. 


Furthermore - and my explanation bridges the previous idea and my next statement - I have read somewhere someone saying something along the lines of "Can you guarantee that no Islamic terrorist will come out of this mosque that they are building at Ground Zero?"


Yes. I can. 


Terrorists do not come from mosques. They do not come from learning about their faith. Terrorism arises from ignorance. 


A young Muslim, being led astray, may someday make his way into this community centre and speak to the Imam, hoping that someone will validate his hateful beliefs. He will learn about what the seemingly-violent passages of the Qur'an are actually about. He will learn the proper context of war. He will learn that killing innocents is never ever ever ever allowed. 


Ignorant people like to point to the violent-sounding verses of the Qur'an and say "This is NOT a religion of peace!" 


The explanation of such verses will be for a different entry, insha'Allah, but for now I will say that even just reading the verses before and after those ones puts them into context. The same way you cannot pluck a verse from the Bible and quote it out of context, you cannot do the same to the Qur'an either. 


Uneducated people don't know that. Uneducated Muslims might not know that! Ignorance breeds fear. Fear breeds hate. Education will solve these problems - not the destruction of a community centre or an unwanted war. Just ask Greg Mortonsen - read Three Cups of Tea.


If any attendant of the community centre becomes a terrorist one day, it will be because he didn't go enough!

Okay. Now onto Qur'an burning. 

This one I will only touch on briefly because there isn't much to say.


First of all, the guy didn't do it. I am not one for conspiracy theories, as I said, but I would be willing to bet that a couple of guys in black suits came up to this guy and highly advised him not to go ahead with his plan. That's all I'm saying about that. 


But. In case you were wondering, in Islam, burning is the respectful way of destroying things. If the name of Allah appears on any papers we are to burn them rather than dispose of them in the garbage. Now, this doesn't excuse this preacher guy's proposed actions because it is his intentions that really matter, but I just think that it's a little ironic.


Please. Do not go around burning Qur'ans. The Qur'an is a beautiful book full of God's Words and Commandments. Sunhanallah, it is beautiful just to look at. 


I would just like to point out that a few years ago, a group of Orthodox Jews set fire to a collection of New Testaments. The world media was silent. If this had happened in a Muslim country, I am willing to bet it would be all over the news, especially in light of the Qur'an burning scandal.


Look, everyone. Religious intolerance is wrong. It doesn't matter who is doing it. As Muslims, we believe that we should bring everyone close to Islam, but we should not be violent towards those of different faiths. 


Let's all just hug and make up. Are you ready? I am!


Here are some fun links to sites/videos/blogs regarding the topics I covered:


http://www.cracked.com/blog/3-reasons-the-ground-zero-mosque-debate-makes-no-sense/


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082605510.html


http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/30306/bloomberg-opposing-mosque-would-play-into-our-enemies-hands/  (<--Subhanallah, a great speech by the mayor of New York City)

And here's a little You Tube video:

POLL: The results are in!!

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem

Assalaam alaikum!

So. Insha'Allah, I plan to have one poll per month, and it is now September, so here are the poll results:

The question was: How confident are you in your knowledge about Islam?

There were 20 responses to the poll. 

-Zero people answered Alhamdulillah, I know a lot!
-Thirteen people (65%) answered I know a fair amount
-Seven people (35%) answered Not much
-Zero people answered I don't know anything!

So, alhamdulillah, it's good that no one feels they don't know anything. Unfortunately, no one knows a lot either. Insha'Allah, maybe we can change that together. If you answered the poll, please feel free to explain your answer in the comments section.


This month's poll is:


Which topic(s) would you be interested in reading more about?

-The Qur'an
-Hadith and Sunnah
-The five pillars
-Halal slaughter (Zabihah) 
-Marriage in Islam
-Women's issues
-The prophets
-The prophet Mohammad (SAW) specifically
-Comparative religion
-Jinn and magic
-Islamic history
-Islam and modern thought
-Nationalism and secularism
-Current events in Islam
-Terrorism
-Other (please explain in comments section)


Please participate and tell your friends to participate too! The more feedback I get, the more motivated I feel to continue updating!!!

Movie Review: Arranged

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim
Assalaam Alaikum

This movie is called Arranged, it is a wonderful movie about the friendship between a Muslim woman (Nasira) and an Orthodox Jewish woman (Rochel). My husband and I liked it so much, when we first saw it, we watched it twice in one week!
Arranged takes place in New York City. It has three main settings: Rochel's world, Nasira's world, and the world they share: a Brooklyn public elementary school, where they meet and become friends. Both women are first-year teachers at the aforementioned school and the movie opens with their being trained to handle the variety of different cultures that their students will come from. The first sign of tension comes from the principal of the school asking teachers to share something "juicy" about themselves to the other teachers in the group. While one woman has something decidedly juicy to say, neither Nasira nor Rochel does.
Outside of the school, both women are going through the process of trying to find a husband. Rochel has a very strict and traditional way in which she can find one, while Nasira is introduced to different men by her family. While Rochel goes through a myriad of different men (each one highly defective in their own hilarious way), Nasira has one bad experience with a friend of her father's who is twenty years older than she and chews with his mouth open.

I don't know about any other sisters out there, but bad table manners would be enough for me to send any suitor packing.

Anyhow, at school Rochel is an assistant to a special needs student who participates in Nasira's grade four class. One day, class is interrupted by some students who were saying to each other that Nasira and Rochel could never be friends because of their different religions ("But I heard the Muslims wanted to push Israel back into the ocean."). They are confronted by the principal about the event, who then goes off on a tirade about how they are beautiful girls, if only they would come out of the dark ages and dress like modern women!

As the movie goes on, tensions within Rochel's family rise (considering her incompatibility with all her suitors), and tensions between the principal and the two women rise as well, while all this time the unlikely friendship between Rochel and Nasira grows. Masha'Allah, it is a wonderful movie that portrays a loving Muslim family very well. And for Muslims who don't know a lot about Jews, the executive producer was Orthodox Jewish, so the portrayal of Rochel's family is probably very accurate as well.

This is a good film to open your eyes to your neighbours and consider what they are really like, rather than what All Jews are like or All Muslims. Everyone is different. This film is a beautiful example of it. I have posted the trailer below, but it really doesn't do the movie justice. If you go to YouTube and type in "Arranged the movie" into the search thing, you can watch the entire thing, but frankly, I suggest you go out and buy it. It is a wonderful movie!

Enjoy the trailer, but please watch the whole thing!

Miracles of Allah - I

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim
Assalaam alaikum

I have decided to do several series in this blog. One will be what this is: Miracles of Allah, which will be video clips, photos, art, etc all that show just how amazing Allah (SWT) is. If you have any ideas for this, let me know.


Other series will include book and movie reviews, as well as whatever else I come up with over time. For movie and book reviews, whenever I see a movie/read a book (besides Qur'an and Hadith) that is either: (a) about Muslims and portrays the characters as practicing Muslims, or (b) reflects Muslim morals and ideals, or (c) is just plain about Islam, I'll do a post about it. With reviews, anyone--yes, ANYONE who reads this blog can submit a review to me (my email is leah.webb@uleth.ca). If I like it, I'll proofread it and post it (giving the author credit, of course).

But for today, I am doing a "Miracles of Allah" entry.


Subhanallah, it is a miracle. Enjoy!

The Problem with Pork

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem

Assalaam alaikum!

So, first of all, Ramadan Mubarak!! For those who are following the Makkah sighting of the moon, today is the first day of Ramadan, alhamdulillah!! This is the best time of year because it is during this month only that Shaytan is chained up and he can not make his waswasas (whispers) in our ears. Insha'Allah, I would love to do a post about Ramadan sometime this month, but I am, for now, going to transfer an entry from my old blog, insha'Allah.

A long time ago when I first started this blog I got a question on Facebook from someone curious about pork/pigs in Islam:"I heard something about if you come into contact with pig, you're not allowed into heaven? [R]umor or fact?" (Natalia)
Thank you for your question, Natalia. I have spent a fair amount of time researching your question and I can pretty much definitively answer: it is a rumour.
I have heard this rumour before, though, when I was reading the diary of a woman from Saudi Arabia. My guess is that it is a cultural thing (as many things are, unfortunately). It is customary to wash oneself after having come into contact with swine (especially before prayer--I'll talk about cleanliness another time), but nowhere in Hadith or the Qur'an (or the Bible, for that matter) could I find anything remotely hinting towards eternal damnation for simply touching a pig.

However, as with Mosaic Law, the flesh of swine is forbidden in Islam. Many Christians seem to think that in Mark 7:18-19, Jesus (AS) made all food lawful: "'Are you so dull?' he asked. 'Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him unclean? For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.'" (Mark 7:18-19 NIV).
To be fair, I can see why the Christian would believe this. That does seem to be what he (AS) is saying. Of course, in Islam we believe otherwise because we believe Jesus (AS) was a prophet to the Jews and he (AS) therefore MUST have adhered to Mosaic Law (ie: the Law of Moses (AS)). In fact, it is actually now kind of in vogue for Christians to keep... not kosher, per se, but kosher-ish. Google "What Would Jesus Eat?" and you will see--it's a health book of some sort, and there's also a "What Would Jesus Eat" cookbook. Very cool.

What do Muslims think that Jesus (AS) was saying in Mark 7:18-19? Well, I'm not sure, though I do have a few unprofessional opinions. One possibility is that Jesus (AS) didn't even ever say such a thing, or that the original meaning of what he (AS) said has been long lost. With so many versions of the Bible, and with the number of times it has been translated, translated again, again, again, and... once more, there's no telling what the original text said. If you don't believe me, go to biblegateway.com and look up 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (famous for weddings, right?) once in the King James version and once in the New International Version. It's craziness.

Another possibility would be that Jesus (AS) was simply saying that there are more important things that worrying about what you eat. The Qur'an affirms that! There are many times the Qur'an forbids the consumption of pork (Surat-ul-baqara, ayat 173; Surat-ul-maa'idah, ayat 3; and Surat-ul-an'aam, ayat 145--possibly more), however in an emergency (eg: no other food available), it is permissible to eat food that is normally forbidden (Surat-un-nahl, ayat 115 among others).   

More compelling to many Christians, however, might be Jesus' (AS) quote from the Bible found in Matthew: "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17). To me, that says that Jesus' (AS) "dying on the cross" (another topic to be addressed in a later blog, insha'Allah) did not all of a sudden excuse his (AS) followers from following Mosaic Laws. Well, well. 

There are also health issues with pork. You see, during my university's Islam Awareness Week (a huge success, by the way, masha'Allah), one young man can up to me and told me that he liked everything about Islam and it sounded like a very good religion to him (yay!), but he thought the rules about not eating pork were archaic. At the time I was under pressure, so I could only stutter out that we do not eat pork because the Qur'an forbids it (which is very true). 

I did get the opportunity to tell him a little something else a few days later. You see, my father-in-law spent 20 years of his life as a butcher, so he knows what he's talking about. He said the way swine would have been slaughtered back in the day is actually more sanitary than how it is done now (halal slaughtering will also be addressed in a future entry, FYI, insha'Allah). In a slaughtering plant, there is a high risk of contamination with all the different animals coming in all the time... some of them diseased. However, in slaughtering an animal outside (as it would have been done) there is sufficient room to ensure that meat from separate animals does not mixed. If one diseased swine is slaughtered, then few people will become ill, instead of thousands.

Well. I have news for you, mister likes-to-eat-bacon guy: I've been doing some research. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture tells us that swine are a significant if not primary factor in giving us meek humans Human Yersinosis. What is this disease? Well, according to the medical dictionary at thefreedictionary.com, "Yersinia [the bacteria causing human yersinosis] produces several different types of disease. The most common form is a short-lived inflammation of the intestine known as enterocolitis. Most often the very end of the small intestine is involved, an area known as the terminal ileum. The result is gastroenteritis, with cramping abdominal pain, fever, and diarrhea. Diarrhea generally continues for two weeks or so, but can go on for many months. Up to 40% of patients also experience nausea and vomiting; and in one-third, inflammation of the intestine leads to bleeding." Intestinal bleeding. Gross. According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture 40% of swine tested in 80 different farms tested positive for this disease.

Trichinosis is the other oft-cited health concern with pork. It isn't overly common, but it comes from eating pork infected with the larvae of a certain species of roundworm. Yuck yuck yuck. Yuck yuck. Medicinenet.com says that 90-95% of people infected with trichinosis have mild or no symptoms... this doesn't really comfort me all that much because if 90% of people have no symptoms then that is waaaay more pork with roundworms in it than I'd like to even think about. Then when there are complications with the disease, it can cause such things as anxiety; lung bleeding; dyspepsia; and in 10-14% of reported cases, the worms enter the nervous system, which can be fatal. It has been estimated that one in six consumers of pork in the US and Canada have been infected with trichinosis.

That means ringworms... in your body...

So! Does this mean we should go out and kill all pigs and burn them??????

No. The Qur'an teaches us that we must be kind to animals, and it would not be very kind to kill an animal that is not attacking us (actively) and is not being consumed.

Pigs do have their uses. Oh yes. I said it. For example, in Israel (yes, Israel--Jews don't eat pork either!) swine are used to sniff for bombs (I saw this story on BBC--look on their archives). Apparently, they're easier to train than dogs. Also, I was talking to a friend today who said that swine used to be used in his school to sniff for drugs... and apparently they found a bunch behind a drinking fountain.

If pigs were nothing but bad, Allah subhanah wa ta'ala would not have put them on this earth. We should not eat them, but they have other uses. Please be kind to pigs--you won't go to hell for it. 

(Re-)Introduction

Bismillah ir-rahman ir-raheem

Assalaam alaikum!

Alhamdulillah! After a year of absence, during which time quite a lot happened, I have decided to re-open my blog. However, due to a few slightly embarrassing circumstances, I am not able to access my old blog and I have to restart. Insha'Allah, this one will be even better!

So, I am going to be re-posting some of my old articles with new information and I'll start with an introduction.

My name is Leah "Amina" Webb. I was given the name Amina by a tearful Afghani woman after I reverted to Islam not long ago. Most people know me by my legal name, Leah, but for a blog about Islam I am going to stick to my Islamic name. For my first post I am just going to do a small intro. Hi. I'm Amina.

I was born in Michigan (USA) back in the '80s (1989 still counts) to some very loving parents. I did not grow up with religion, though I think I had some vague concept of God just from existing around religious people (or maybe it's because my grandma used to say "Oh God" all the time - I love you, Grandma!). Anyhow, my childhood isn't all that important. I mean, it is important, but it isn't relevant to what I am talking about. The important stuff starts about a little over two years ago when my boyfriend at the time called and said he had succeeded in getting us an apartment in Lethbridge (Alberta, Canada). This was good news because I was going to university there.

Now, I had met this boyfriend of mine while in France on exchange during my grade 11 year, which was when I lived my teenage years, having been pretty much angelic before then (sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll weren't really my cup of tea). Yes, I did some (many) things that I'm ashamed of, but ultimately I have no regrets. It was all part of the path that led me to Allah, and for that I am grateful.

So, in August of 2008 I moved in with said boyfriend and all was good in life. Come November or so, however, due to a petty little memoir (of a non-Muslim) we were reading, we started talking to some Muslims in the community. First Ahmed, then the Khan family. Before we knew it, we were hooked. Islam was the answer. Though at first we had planned to revert to Islam and get married in July, our friend convinced us that it was better to do sooner rather than later and all of a sudden I was standing in front of a small masjid full of people taking shahadah and becoming a Muslim and not soon after I was married. This is the short version.

People always want to know why I reverted, and I can never give a good answer. Mostly I tell them about the memoir that my husband and I read and how that led to us talking to Muslims around Lethbridge, etc etc etc. But how satisfying is that? Pretty much not at all. I mean, drinking is fun, right? Sex is fun! Who would want to cover herself up all the time just because some silly 1500-year-old book alludes to such a thing? Why would anyone choose a restrictive religion over the easy and free life of an agnostic?

Because.
Insha'Allah (God willing), in my further posts I will be able to clear up these questions and explain to any reader who happens upon this site a little bit about Islam. If you have any questions you want answered or if there are any topics you want discussed, please let me know. But remember, I am only a woman. I am not God, therefore I am vulnerable to error. Sometimes, I just don't know things. But insha'Allah, if you are patient we can make this a really interesting blog. Please, tell your friends (Muslims and non-Muslims alike) about this site.

JazakAllah Khair

Amina 

ps: Also, please note that insha'Allah, there will be a monthly poll. If you scroll almost alllllll the way to the bottom you will find it. JazakAllah.