Thursday, December 27, 2012

Spiritual Starfish



Asalamu Alaykom,





I've been searching for---
no, not for---
I've been searching
with
a spiritual starfish


Among many exes
I was surprised to see
one exo
skeletal friend
supportive; protective;
mine.  For me.


It was injured in the move---
the moves of many---
and from my immobility.
Yet it survived and thrived
ready to grow another limb of
spirituality.


Together, he ---
or she---
(I'm not sure which and
I'm too shy to pry)
We two are going through
these seas to seize
what we might
be.


Just a woman with inabilty
and a spiritual starfish
growing bigger, stronger
each limb growing longer
even if by chance
I break

Together we regenerate




Thursday, December 20, 2012

Melody Makes Me Laugh


Asalamu Alaykom,





It's been a long week, hasn't it?

For me, the week is done---and because God is the Greatest, I have the next two weeks off.  Alhumdulillah!

It's time to laugh a little so I'm going to share some Egyptian commercials for Melody, a satellite network.  This series comes under the heading, "Tatahda El Mallal".  Its nothing new.  I think these were playing on TV back in 2009 when we first arrived here in Egypt.  Then as now, you absolutely don't have to know Arabic to get the gist.

The first one I've posted above is of an annoying taxi driver.  Basically, every commercial focused on eradicating a different kind of annoying Egyptian.

This is one of my favorites.




This next one, even though I'm a teacher, makes me laugh.  This isn't a teacher but a tutor.  Egyptian kids have hours upon hours of tutoring to make up for their inability to learn at school.



Man-on-the-street interviews are a staple of Egyptian TV and so are annoying people in the background.



These crack me up!

Oh, and the shortest one of all---





What I find the funniest part of that elevator scene is hearing the Bee Gees as the man gets pummelled.

There are more.  Some are too inappropriate for me to share here.  Search if you wish.  I hope you get a laugh.

Don't we all need one?


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Cenet Doganay





I love this girl so much.  She is, in my opinion, among the best of Muslims.

Let me tell you her story.

In 2004, Cenet was only 15 and observing Islam in France.  That's not always easy!  There's a lot of xenophobia; "fear of foreign things and people," in Paris.  Despite their Gallic ancestors storming the Bastille for freedom, the French don't actually want human rights across the board.

So, Cenet became a pawn by the grown-ups playing around with dress codes.  She was stuck in the middle of a fight about religious articles in school.  The French government felt that any jewelery or clothing which identified the wearer's faith was wrong; it would fracture society.  No yamulkas.  No crosses on a chain.  No hijabs.

Cenet tried to work with her school. 

Bandana?  No. 

Beret?  No.

It was so frustrating for her to love school and want to attend but to be turned back day after day.  She was unable to go to her classes----not because she insisted on wearing hijab.  She didn't!  She was adamant, however, on covering her hair.

"No, you can't see my hair."

What I love, love, love about Cenet Doganay is that eventually she came to see how ridiculous and unreasonable the demands were.  She looked again at her bottom line, which was, "No, you can't see my hair". 

No...can't see....my hair.

No...can't...hair!

No...hair!

NO HAIR!

She realized what she could do. 

The next morning she arrived at school in her hijab.  The press was waiting for the showdown.  They knew she wouldn't be allowed in.  She knew it too.  She stood there a moment and then she took off her hijab.

She was bald.



She had shaved her head completely bald.

Yes, you could make her remove her hijab but that didn't mean that you got to see her hair.

Mashallah, that is one of the best jihad moments of our life time. 

Mashahallah!  Mashahallah!

I love Cenet Doganay.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Two Imperfect People



Asalamu Alaykom,


                                                            
“I didn't marry you because you were perfect.

I didn't even marry you because I loved you.

I married you because you gave me a promise.

That promise made up for your faults.

And the promise I gave you made up for mine.

Two imperfect people got married

and it was the promise that made the marriage.

And when our children were growing up,

it wasn't a house that protected them;

and it wasn't our love that protected them

--it was that promise.”


― Thornton Wilder from his play, "The Skin of Our Teeth"