Izzy Mo’s Blog

Salaam alaikum,

It’s so good to get around to local conferences and to support various organizations.  Here’s a little information on ISRA.  ISRA, or the Islamic Studies & Research Association, is an organization dedicated to spiritual revival of Islam. Basically, they’re striving to bring back tasawuuf, something sorely need in our umma to rise above the defensive angry rhetoric of victimization.  What was interesting was the beginning of the conference with a 20 minute session of dhikr.  You can’t help but feel your heart soften and your eyes began to water as you hear this soft, repetitive dhikr extolling the praises of Allah. 

But because I was vending, I was placed in the back with the kids and the talking so I could only pick up on some of the lectures.  Ustadha Zaynab gave an awesome talk on the excellent standard of the Prophet (alayhi salatu wa salaam).  And it was cool that the conference was held in the Global Mall, a mall dedicated to South Asian culture.  There are all these cool stores that sell Hindi films, halal Chinese food, Indian wedding dresses and a movie theatre all about Bollywood.  I took some pictures of all the designs I saw got ideas for some South Asian influenced artwork.  Can’t help it, y’all. The art of
South Asia is sooooooo cool. 

I gleaned two important themes from this conference; pro-activism and tolerance.  "Proactivism" is when we get up off of our proverbial duff and start doing something about the injustices that we see in the world.  Another sister gave a masha’Allah talk about how we’ve become complacent in our current condition.  It is easy to get caught up in the day to day life of work, school, and kids but we all need to find time to do something for our communities.  She also reminded all of us that we don’t have to rich or influential in order to do something proactive and effective.  One example was a Muslim man who created a small organization to provide loans to small business and it has become the model for small businesses start ups around the world.  One man.  There was another example of a place where a group of Muslims feed the poor and help the mentality disabled and it is currently one of the few systems of welfare in Pakistan.  Even something as simple as giving charity to Islamic Relief, which is now dealing with the tragedy of the Indonesian earthquake, can be very helpful. 

Tolerance as a virtue is necessary.  Unfortunately, sometimes people think that tolerance means acceptance of something that they view as wrong.  The speakers made the point that while there are Muslims with full Sunnah beards, praying 5 times a day, fasting and fulfilling the fard and Sunnah, some of these same Muslims kill—often times they kill other Muslims.  So since none of us can see what’s inside the heart, or what a person’s intention may be, it’s better to judge their character rather than their dress or the “appearance” of piety.  I think we all, at one time of another, ran into someone who dressed the part but didn’t act the part.  We’re all at different stations in terms of our faith and our knowledge.  They also spoke of the culture of takfir and Muslims going around declaring other Muslims apostates.  There are things that I don’t agree with that some Muslims are doing but in a time when Muslims need to be band together, we are tearing ourselves apart faster than any American think tank or government funded “Islamic” organization. 

But I only have one issue at these conferences—the children and their parents’ unwillingness to discipline them.  I know that it's the nature of children to run around and play but…when your kid is screaming his head off (and he’s 8 years old so he should know better.)  Or when your daughter is getting an attitude because I won’t let her play with my artwork.   Or when you see your child acting up and you do nothing, my patience is very thin with that kind of nonsense.  I will tell them, “Don’t touch.  No, you can’t do that.  Yes, I will get your mother…or your father…or the conference security.  No, you can play drums on my boxes.”  If there is a room where the kids are supposed to play, then they should be there or sitting quietly next to the parents while people are trying to hear the speaker.  I guess coming from the Catholic Church has given me a high standard because you did not talk while the priest talked.  If you had a question, it better wait until after mass.  If you acted up, everyone would give you that stern look like “How dare you act up in the house of the Lord.”  You could hear a pin drop…literally.  I tested it one day and it was clear as a bell. 

It’s gotten so bad that some conferences refuse to allow children.  That’s unfortunate because they need knowledge as much as we do so maybe we need to come up with some projects that keep them busy but also teach them about the deen.  Letting them run around and potentially break something (which I will make you pay for) is not working.  It’s not so much the children, because kids will be kids.  It's parents who think that not setting up boundaries are good things.  Or that saying yes to everything is good when it’s only spoiling them and teaching them that they are entitled to something without really working for it.  And just to show you how these traits are inherited, the mother of one of these kids put her frothy Starbucks coffee smack dab in the middle of my table.  “Ah, sister!?” One night, someone spilled water on my art.  The mercy of God is vast.  It wasn’t tea or soda!  And I'm the weird one for asking her to remove it.  @@

Anyhoo, I did very well.  I sold this baby! And now I gotta start making some other stuff.  I've got some plans for other projects but we all know how that goes.  Trying to be a successful artist with this current economy is going to be tricky. 

desi5

Originally uploaded by Izzy Mo.

Oh, these patterns are from dresses. They're probably wedding or party dresses. Well if I go to a dress-up function, I'll know where to go but some of these dresses much feel heavy with all that beadwork on it. Oh, the burden of beauty.

desi4

Originally uploaded by Izzy Mo.

Is that colorful enough for ya? Reason 152 why South Asian art is cool–intricate patterns. And the good thing is that you only need a little bit of something like this in a room to add color. A couple of pillows or a throw or a table runner. Curtains? No, that would be too much. Or would it?

desi2

Originally uploaded by Izzy Mo.

Reason 947 why South Asian art is cool–they aren't afraid of bright colors. Lime green with hot pink flowers and gold beadwork is just fine. I can't remember if this is crewelwork, beaded patterns or both. But you have to love that blood red against that creamy yellow.

desi1

Originally uploaded by Izzy Mo.

The conference was in the Global Mall. It's a Desi mall filled with Bollywood films, Indian food restaurants, Indo-Chinese halal food, saris, and Indian dance school. Very, very afforable Indian clothing which would have cost much more at the French Market in NOLA.

I started looking around to get some ideas. Isn't the beadwork cool? Reason 537 why South Asian art is so cool–bright beadwork! Bling-bling, literally.

Salaam alaikum,

Please check out Sister Em's beautiful necklaces and earrings!  It's so beautiful!

I'm gonna do what she did by creating a space just for Muslim bloggin' business people and artisans. 

And you already know about JD's Firaushah. 

I'm gonna get something as soon as somebody hires me from the 17 jobs I've applied for!

My room is organized.  Allahu akbar. 

I feel an overwhelming sense of peace as I look around and see organization.  I know where everything is.  My file cabinet is actually a place to put my files instead of those drawers where I pack my junk.  And yes, I have gotten rid of the "pile."  You know what I'm talking about.  That pile, or those piles, of paper that just can't seem to go away.  It's a hodge-podge of bills, articles, ripped envelopes, assignments, messages, products, scraps of paper with phone numbers that you'll never find when you need them and everything else imaginable.  It…is…gone!  I have excorcized the demon. 

I have full faith in the state of my pristine room remaining this way.  It should stay this way for at least two days because I will not be in it.  I will be in Norcross at the ISRA Convention selling my art, insha'Allah.  So I may blog again on Monday.  I hope your weekend is enjoyable and pleasant and I'll be back to blog about the conference.

Are you having some difficulty in enjoying modern day entertainment? 

I am.  I can't help it.  I know it's not just me.  It's like a joke that everybody gets but you.  Or you're at a party, and I know some of you have experienced this, and everyone looks like they're having a blast but except you.  That's how modern day popular culture makes me feel. 

I was talking with someone and they thought it was sorta odd that I don't watch American Idol.  I told her that it all seems to be a big distraction campaign to keep us from being concerned about what really matters.  American culture is up to its neck in pop stars.  They're all beginning to look the same; prepacked and industry made.  I can't keep their names straight.  There's hardly any distinction between the cute blonde singing about her boyfriend and the cute brunette whining about her boyfriend leaving.  I happened to walk by the television while American Idol was on and the host said that the show received over 60 million votes.  He also stated that it was more votes than any presidential election.  So that's where we are now?  We worry more about the next idol and then next president who has the power to make or break the country? 

Now before I sound like a total killjoy, I do believe in recreation.  In fact, I think that because of the lack of recreation I had this semester was the reason I started buggin' towards the end.  I don't think television is evil unless you count all the worthless programming as evil.  I love movies but I wish that good movies were made more often. I watching HBO's Elizabeth I like it's the best movie on earth.  Shopping…yeah, within it's limits and likewise with eating.  But there seems to be too many things pulling further into the dunya. 

It could be the curse of knowing too much about what's going on that can taint a good time.  When I had some extra money and I need some clothing, the trip was exciting.  Now, the creeping voice in the back of my mind says, "Well, is made with sweat shop labor?"  It's terrible and I usually keep it to myself because my friend may just plum slap me for killing the shopping mood.  Or if Hollywood comes out with another dumb movie, I think of all the money that could have been spent on better things or all the untapped talent struggling to get a break.  I mean, we are at war.  There's no canons or bombs being dropped on us but there are our men and women overseas living this reality. 

At the risk of sounding conspiratorial, it seems that society is set up like the Roman games of ancient times.  Watch the gladitors kill themselves will the politicians steal public funds.  Keep watching television while anti-Americanism grows deeper around the globe. 

This is how someone becomes a stick in the mud.   Or maybe a counter culture revolutionary.  Either way, you're a bore. 

There's always the temptation of going back to the days when I was just too ignorant to care.  But how can you walk away from truth, even when its ugly and uncomfortable.  See, I can't even be funny with this entry! 

And please don't bring religion into the mix.  If you're within your non-Muslim friends or relatives eating dinner at a restaurant, please don't leave the table to make salaat.  And why do you have to be so picky about your food?  Why are you so serious?  Remember, the definition of serious for some people means praying the middle of the day and covering your arms.  If you wear hijab or read the content labels of food, you're a fanatic. 

The world is a prison for the believers.  It seems that the stronger your love for Allah becomes, the less interested you are in the earth's delights.  The more you seek to please Him, the more you are willing forfeit things that you tought was so necessary.  So I guess knowing the truth about your society and the truth about your Lord can bring about unintended results.  Or maybe the quality of entertainment out there is so bad that you have no choice but to seek more meaningful ways to use your time. 

Read here for more information

I'm going to try to keep this feature since it's so rare that you heard good news in the world.  Good news is not cutting edge.  People getting along is boring.  This is just my small way of counteracting all the negativity out there.

Swiss Spy in a War of Words.  You must read this.  This is more intriguing news than good news. In a nutshell, a martial arts expert and Swiss spy infiltrates Muslim groups and eventually converts to Islam.  Subhan'Allah.  He's now gone public in what he feels is personal vendetta directed against an Islamic scholar.  Wouldn't this make a great movie?

Muslims promoting the arts

Palestinians express the occupation through art and their art gets pulled.  So…who's against freedom of expression again?  Why is this good news?  Because the report who wrote this sees it for the hyprocrisy that it is.  And it's good to see Muslims seeking various ways to express political problems beyond the podium and mike approach. 

Another article on the 1st Islamic American sorority, Gamma Gamma Chi.  Ignore the constant attention to dress code.  They just can't get enough of our way of dress!

The "egalitarian face" of Islamic orthodoxy?  This quote caught my attention. 

In research based on survey data from seven predominantly Muslim nations, the authors found that Islamic orthodoxy — identified as the desire to implement Islamic law (shari'a) as the sole legal foundation of their nation — is associated in every country with support for such progressive economic reforms as increasing the responsibility of government for the poor, reducing income inequality, and increasing government ownership of businesses and industries.

So like, academics and really smart people, like, uh are they gonna start realizing that like Islam is cool and forward thinking and stuff?

*****

OPENING BOOKS, OPENING MINDS AT THE FESTIVAL– With critics pointing a harsh finger at Muslims and the Arab world, Alia Dada and Shahid Ali could not have been more pleased with the crowds gathered around their little information booth at the 11th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Sunday.

By day's end, they had handed out more than 1,500 free paperback English translations of the Koran and answered hundreds of sometimes tough questions about their faith.

Refilling the diminishing stack of Korans on her display table over the weekend, Ali said a few visitors even "came up to apologize for having said negative things about Islamists in the past."

LECTURER SHEDS LIGHT ON ISLAM

Muslim cadet balances God and countries

LATINO, MUSLIM YOUTHS SHARE THEIR HERITAGE
 

Metro mom shows her funny side

CAIR-OHIO HELPS BRING IRAQ WAR EXHIBIT TO STATE CAPITOL - TOP

(COLUMBUS, OH, 5/4/2006)- The Columbus office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio), along with various interfaith organizations, is bringing the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) exhibit, “Eyes Wide Open: the Human Cost of War in Iraq,” to the West Lawn of the Ohio Statehouse from June 12-14.

This exhibit will feature a panel display memorializing the Iraqi civilians killed since the beginning of the war, an interlocked field of shoes and sandals representing Iraqi women, children, and men who have died, and a field of empty combat boots symbolizing the US soldiers who have been killed during this war. Around the clock reading of the names of civilians and soldiers will also take place. The goals of the exhibit are to put a human face to the casualties in the Iraq War, to lift up the deaths of Iraqis and US soldiers, and urge the US government’s accountability.

“This is truly an important event as it highlights clearly the toll this war has had on both Iraqi’s and US service-members, but it also stresses the interfaith community’s unified commitment to seeking peace in this horrific human tragedy,” said CAIR-Columbus Director Adnan Mirza. “One cannot leave this display and not be moved by it.”

Volunteers are needed and tax deductible donations are accepted. For more information on the exhibit please visit: http://www.afsc.org/eyes/about-the-exhibit.htm.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. The CAIR-Ohio Chapter has three offices – Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

And Indrek Wichman gets punked!