Langston Hughes

Let America be America Again

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek--
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one's own greed!

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean--
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That's made America the land it has become.
O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home--
For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore,
And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa's strand I came
To build a "homeland of the free."

The free?

Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we've dreamed
And all the songs we've sung
And all the hopes we've held
And all the flags we've hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay--
Except the dream that's almost dead today.

O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet--
And yet must be--the land where every man is free.
The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME--
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose--
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain--
All, all the stretch of these great green states--
And make America again!

(ha, I don't think I am as optimistic as Langston!)

State Champion

Henry Cejudo, Coronado High School
Named one of the top 3 U.S. high school wrestlers of all time

Shrine of Graves of Imam e Zaman's (as) father and grandfather

Photo from AP, showing recent damage from bombing

Ayatollah Sistani called for a period of mourning of 7 days and urged that there not be a violent response.

Any "Codebreakers" Out There?

ud tiy xB EWs rgua nwaaFW TIY ew cwet xkwcwe

og upi vsm trsf yjod ,rddshr upi str s;dp brtu v;rbrt

Hope you're not a Callahan...

Yahoo!Mail bans Allah and Dirty Harry handles
By John Oates
Published Monday 20th February 2006 16:27 GMT

Yahoo! is banning the use of allah in email names - even if the letters are included within another name.

This was uncovered by Reg reader Ed Callahan whose mother Linda Callahan was trying to sign up for a Verizon email address. She could not get it to accept her surname.

Enquiries to Verizon revealed that a partnership with Yahoo! was to blame. Yahoo! will not accept any identies which include the letters "allah".

Nor will Yahoo! accept yahoo, osama or binladen. But it will accept god, messiah, jesus, jehova, buddah, satan and both priest and pedophile.

Ed Callahan told us: "On one level this is just silliness. But we have a war on terrorism and it's migrating to be a war on Muslims - this just shows the confusion there is between the two and how pervasive this is."

The Callahans are still waiting to hear back from Yahoo!

A spokesman for Yahoo! UK said: "This sounds like a glitch. But we will get back to Ed and Lindy Callahan with a full answer as soon as possible." .


For T:
America's Next Top Model?

Height:6'4'' • Hair:Blonde • Eyes:Grey • Jacket:44L • Inseam:36 • Waist:35 • Shoe:13

(I'll take it down later).....

California woman, 62, gives birth

The Associated Press

REDDING, Calif. - A 62-year-old woman gave birth Friday to a healthy 6-pound, 9-ounce baby boy, becoming one of the oldest women in the world to successfully bear a child.

Janise Wulf gave birth to her 12th child. She is also a grandmother of 20 and a great-grandmother of three.

Family members said the delivery went smoothly, despite earlier concerns about the mother's health. Wulf, a diabetic, experienced swelling and higher blood pressure earlier this week, prompting doctors to perform the Caesarean section a week early.

Wulf and her third husband, Scott, 48, named the red-haired boy Adam Charles Wulf. He follows just 3 1/2 years behind his older brother, Ian.

"I hate to raise one alone, without a sibling,"

said Wulf, who was impregnated both times through in vitro fertilization.

The oldest woman on record to give birth is a 66-year-old Adriana Iliescu of Romania, who had a Caesarean section Jan. 15, 2005.

The Guinness Book of World Records also lists two 63-year-old women who have given birth: Rosanna Della Corte of Italy in 1994 and Acheli Keh of California in 1996. News reports, however, list Della Corte's age at 62 when she gave birth.

Presidents' Day Weekend

Well I've done nothing productive this long President's Day weekend. Haven't left the house. Didn't even go to madressah. Came down with a cold/flu type thing and just haven't had energy. Well, I'll start to feel like I might have energy to do something, but it goes away before I can actually do it. Oh well, a lazy weekend is nice, too (just kind of a bummer it is in a messy house. ) Maybe I'll do some things later. :) Maybe I'll take a nap instead.

Curious if anyone has had particular success with any Qur'anic Arabic stuff out there - free or cheap stuff primarily. For recitation as well as understanding. Farsi? Urdu?

Day of Tremendous Prophetic Character

http://www.nuradeen.com/CurrentIssues/PrayerOfTaif.htm
 
The Prayer of Taif -- The Prophet's Response to Ridicule and Abuse: A Reflection on the Danish Cartoon Crisis

by


Abu Kauthar


February 4, 2006



In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
 
While many Muslims once again fall into the reactionary trap set for them and confirm the thesis of the offending cartoons by exploding in rage and violence, we would do well to reflect upon the Prophet's supplication in Taif. This is the dua he recited with shoes full of blood, wounds all over his body and after having been insulted, ridiculed and abused by the people of Taif to whom he had taken recourse seeking a place of refuge. Moreover, this occurs after three years of suffering a boycott at the hands of the Quraysh as a result of which Muslims were reduced to eating grass and leaves off of trees.
 
The Prophet (s) as he walks out of Taif:

 
"O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people. O Most Merciful of those who are merciful. O Lord of the weak and my Lord too. To whom have you entrusted me?
To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom you have granted authority over my affair? So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favor is of a more expansive relief to me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descends upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased.
There is no power and no might except by You."
If those who claim to love the Prophet (s) so much that they are willing to infringe upon prophetic conduct with their blind rage and fury would reflect upon this prayer, it would be a guiding light for them and a clear instruction as to how a Muslim should respond to our current situation. It is also the only salve by which troubled hearts and souls will find peace. It will not be found on pickets and demonstrations -- not that these may not be useful in making clear our reverence for the sacred and the divine and our indignation at the injustice and double standards of the European press.
 
In my jum'ah khutbah today [editor: given on February 3, 2006], I spoke on this prayer and while there were some whose hearts and eyes were cooled by it, it was obvious to me that there were many who were so caught up in anger that they could not hear.
For whom does the Prophet's saying: 'Islam is good character' mean anything anymore?
 
Are we to revert to pre-Islamic tribal norms of vengeance and retribution rather than see this as an opportunity to turn hearts by sharing the example of our beloved Prophet's centeredness and compassion in the face of hate and enmity with those whose hearts are open?
Are we to fall into the major sin of despair-fuelled violence rather than maintain hope as the Prophet (s) did when the angel of the mountains met him outside Ta'if following his supplication and offered to cause the mountains surrounding Taif to crumble over the town and obliterate it to which the Prophet (s) replied: 'No, I hope that these people will one day come to worship only Allah and Him alone'?
 
Unless we have the centeredness and the Allah-consciousness of the Prophet (s) by which every event whether favorable or unfavorable (in material terms) offers us the opportunity of strengthening our relationship with Allah, we will continue to be the victim of every ruse and ploy.
 
Rather than reacting with violence and rage we should intensify our work to share the beautiful and merciful message of the Deen especially now that the Prophet (s) is headline news. Let the Prophet's prayer of Taif be printed in European newspapers as the example of his supreme magnanimity and patience.
 
Violence, death threats and fury only betray a lack of trust in the power and light of the sacred which is illustrated in the Prophet's experience in the garden outside Taif when persons who overheard his prayer were moved by it to come to Islam. Moreover, on the way back to Mecca after this experience, many jinn who happened to hear the Prophet's recitation of the Qur'an in his night prayer also came to Islam. And not long thereafter the Prophet (s) was conveyed on his night journey and ascent to heaven. Verily with difficulty comes ease.
 
Yet with the announcement by 'eminent' Muslim scholars of a 'Day of Outrage', I fear we have become nothing but saboteurs. Why not a Day of Remembrance of the Prophet, Why not a Day of Tremendous Prophetic Character? Why not a Day of the Prayer of Taif?
 
I recommend that we circulate the Prayer of Taif at this time as an antidote to all of the madness and poison of rage, violence and emotional maelstroms. May Allah guide us to that which is right and grant us the tremendous fortune of seeing our enemies as our close friends (see Qur'an 41:34-36*) to whom we have the duty of conveying the reverence and love of Allah and his Prophet (s).
Ameen.
Allah knows best.
Abu Kauthar
 
* "Good and evil cannot be equal. [Prophet], repel evil with what is better and your enemy will become as close as an old and valued friend, but only those who are steadfast in patience, only those who are blessed with great righteousness, will attain to such goodness. If a prompting from Satan should stir you, seek refuge with God: He is the all Hearing and the All Knowing." [The Qur`an: A new translation by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem]

The Author Who Got A Big Boost From bin Laden

Historian 'Glad' of Mention As Sales of Book Skyrocket
By David Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 21, 2006; C01

Twenty-four hours after Osama bin Laden told the world that the American people should read the work of a little-known Washington historian, William Blum was still adjusting.

Blum, who at 72 is accustomed to laboring in relative left-wing obscurity, checked his emotions and pronounced himself shocked and, well, pleased.

"This is almost as good as being an Oprah book," he said yesterday between telephone calls from the world media and bites of a bagel. "I'm glad." Overnight, his 2000 work, "Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower," had become an Osama book.

In gray slacks, plaid shirt and black slippers, Blum padded around his one-bedroom apartment on Connecticut Avenue. A portrait of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the '50s hung on his kitchen wall. Bookshelves bowed under the weight of secret histories of the CIA. The cord on his prehistoric phone let him roam across the living room. He'd already done CNN and MSNBC. A guy from the New York Post knocked on the door to take pictures. The BBC rang, then Reuters and Pacifica Radio stations on both coasts.

From Blum's end of the conversations, you could tell the reporters were expecting him to express some kind of discomfort, remorse, maybe even shame. Blum refused to acknowledge feelings he did not have.

"I was not turned off by such an endorsement," he informed a New York radio station. "I'm not repulsed, and I'm not going to pretend I am." He patiently reiterated the thesis of his foreign-policy critique -- that American interventions abroad create enemies.

You could almost hear the ticking of a stopwatch. These were Blum's 15 American minutes, brought to him by a murderous zealot on the other side of the world who had named him to a kind of Terrorists Book-of-the-Month Club. The CIA duly verified the audiotape from bin Laden, and there it was: Blum had a bona fide book blurb from the evil one.

Now it was time for the soft-spoken, bespectacled radical son of Brooklyn to look thoughtful for the cameras -- "I don't have a good smile" -- and sound pithy for the microphones. Better known in radical circles and on the college lecture circuit than he is among most readers of American history, Blum is a former underground journalist who specializes in sharp critiques of foreign policy. Published by a small outfit in Maine, he also sells his books over the Internet and issues a free monthly e-mail newsletter called the Anti-Empire Report.

What bin Laden said was this, as translated from Arabic by the Associated Press:

"And if Bush decides to carry on with his lies and oppression, then it would be useful for you to read the book 'Rogue State,' which states in its introduction: 'If I were president, I would stop the attacks on the United States: First, I would give an apology to all the widows and orphans and those who were tortured. Then I would announce that American interference in the nations of the world has ended once and for all.' "

By last night, "Rogue State" shot up from 205,763 to 26 on Amazon.com's index of the most-ordered books.

"I'm calling it the book review of the decade," said Sam Smith, editor of the Progressive Review in Washington and a fan of Blum's work. Smith, too, has blurbed the book ("an especially well-documented encyclopedia of malfeasance") as has Gore Vidal.

Chortled Smith yesterday, "Neither Vidal nor Smith came close to lifting 'Rogue State' into the double digits" on Amazon.

Since Amazon's delivery service, while comprehensive, would not seem to extend to faraway caves, how might bin Laden have gotten his hands on Blum's work?

The author noted "Rogue State" had been published in Arabic in Egypt and Lebanon. And perhaps bin Laden owns the entire Blum canon, because the quote he cited actually is not in "Rogue State," but on the back cover of a collection of Blum essays, "Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire." (That book is languishing on Amazon, while two other books titled "Rogue State" have enjoyed a spike in ranking.)

Blum's exact words? "If I were the president, I could stop terrorist attacks against the United States in a few days. Permanently. I would first apologize -- very publicly and very sincerely -- to all the widows and orphans, the impoverished and the tortured, and all the many millions of other victims of American imperialism."

Yesterday, he made clear that he deplores the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But he argues, as many other essayists have, that they were an understandable retaliation against U.S. foreign policy. "The thesis in my books and my writing is that anti-American terrorism arises from the behavior of U.S. foreign policy," he said. "It is what the U.S. government does which angers people all over the world."

"I am totally against what they did. But we cannot view that as totally the acts of a bunch of madmen. If we do . . . we will continue making the same mistakes, and the so-called war on terror will be as doomed to fail as the war on drugs."

In a chapter called "Why Do Terrorists Keep Picking on the United States?" Blum lists as possible reasons everything from support of Middle East dictators, including the Shah of Iran and Saudi rulers, to occupying military bases in the region, to favoring the Israelis over the Palestinians.

"I think bin Laden shares that view, and that is why I'm not repulsed by his embrace of my book, because that is one of my major themes," Blum said.

When it is pointed out that terrorists target innocent civilians, which is not U.S. policy, he replies that U.S. tactics in Iraq have led to the deaths of thousands of civilians. "We bomb homes and these people have families, and the U.S. refuses to apologize for these civilian deaths," Blum said. "The absence of concern makes their actions almost equal to a deliberate targeting of civilians."

Until now, the mainstream media have paid virtually no attention to Blum. His books rarely are reviewed. But Noam Chomsky has praised his work, and Blum is right there along with Steve Earle, Jane Fonda and Barbara Ehrenreich as a signer of a full-page ad in the New York Times in the fall of 2002 against the military buildup for war in Iraq.

His publisher, Common Courage Press, yesterday could not provide estimates of his sales. Blum says "Rogue State" and "Killing Hope" together have sold more than 100,000 copies, plus an additional 50,000 in a dozen foreign languages. He said he supports himself with his writing and speaking engagements on college campuses.

The son of Polish immigrants, Blum said he studied accounting in college, then landed a low-level computer-related position at the State Department in the mid-1960s. An anti-communist with dreams of becoming a foreign service officer, he said he became disillusioned by the Vietnam War, so he resigned from State and helped found the Washington Free Press, an underground paper. Separated from his German wife, with whom he said he is on good terms, and the father of a 24-year-old son, he lives alone and writes at home.

"He's an alternative journalist, a researcher type," said Smith, who uses Blum's work as a reference when he wants to find, say, a list of dictators the United States has supported in Latin America and the Middle East. "What Bill Blum has basically done is what a historian does, which is to compile the available record and organize it in a way that is useful."

Blum said his life's mission has been this: "If not ending, at least slowing down the American Empire. At least injuring the beast. It's causing so much suffering around the world."

And if he is happy to accept bin Laden's plug, he certainly doesn't want to meet his terrorist fan.

"If he would contact me," said Blum, "then I would be scared."

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

memes from Wayfarer

1. Your name spelled backwards. amoosam
2. Last incoming call on your phone. mom
3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer? video of british soldiers beating up iraqi kids
4. What's your favorite restaurant? I don't know.
5. Last time you swam in a pool? long time ago
6. Have you ever been in a school play? Yes
7. 2 or 3? 3
8. Type of music you dislike most? degrading, hateful, nasty
9. Do you have cable? yes
10. Have you ever ridden on a 4 wheeler? no
11. Have you ever made a prank phone call? yes, common entertainment when we were kids
12. Boyfriend/Girlfriend? no
13. Would you go bungee jumping or skydiving? I think so.
14. Farthest place you ever traveled? mars
15. Do you have a garden? Sort of.
16. What's your favorite comic strip? Calvin and Hobbes
17. Do you read a newspaper every day? no
18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? yes
19. missing
20. Best movie(s) you've seen in the past month? I don't know.
21. Favorite pizza toppings? green and black olives.
22. Chips or popcorn? neither
23. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? no
24. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? no
25. Orange Juice or Apple Juice? apple
26. Who were the last people you went out to lunch or dinner with? mom and dad
27. Favorite type chocolate bar? dark chocolate with hazelnut
28. When was the last time you voted at the polls? Last election
29. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? maybe last summer or the one before from mom's
30. Have you ever won a trophy? yes
31. Are you a good cook? no
32. Do you know how to pump your own gas? yes, I'm not from NJ
33. Sprite or 7-Up? neither really
34. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school/work? to work, yes
35. Last thing you ate? spaghetti
36. Ever thrown up in public? gross. no I don't think so
(37-39 missing)
40. Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? dad
41. Did you have long hair as a young kid? Yes.
42. What messages are in your voice mail? none
(43-44 missing)
45. What kind of bag do you have, and whats in it? duffel. islam books, purse, prayer stuff, school stuff, work stuff, etc.
46. What was the last thing you drank? water
47. What is one thing you are grateful for today? heat
48. What do you think about most? Islam, Allah swt, Ahlulbayt (as)
49. What is your new years resolution? no internet shopping (so far, so good)

Quirk Meme
My good quirks

hmmmm

My bad quirks

Not very social in some ways.
Not always very detail oriented especially when it comes to appearance of a product.
Don't like cleaning or cooking.
Don't like talking on the phone.
Kinda lazy sometimes.

My food quirks

I don't really cook.
I like anything halal for the most part. I am not picky about food.

My sleep quirks

It usually takes me a while to fall asleep even if I am tired.
If I am bored I go to bed early sometimes, even 7 o'clock.
I sleep lightly.
I strongly prefer to use azaan to wake up by.
I don't do well on not enough sleep.

DOING HIS JOB

For a change in pace: This is a student at my school.

Coronado senior wrestler Henry Cejudo hasn’t lost a match since moving to Colorado before his junior year. Cejudo will make a run at another state title this weekend in the 125-pound weight division. The state tournament starts Thursday at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

By BOB STEPHENS THE GAZETTE

A wry smile crossed Henry Cejudo’s face. He started to speak, then abruptly stopped putting on his Team USA sweat pants and exercised a rare moment of caution.

Cejudo didn’t want to appear overly cocky. He does that often enough.

A veteran of five international wrestling tournaments, the unbeaten Coronado High School senior was asked the odds of losing in the state wrestling championships that begin Thursday at Pepsi Center in Denver.

Cejudo is the overwhelming favorite in the 125-pound division and acknowledged as the best wrestler in the state, regardless of weight.

“You’ve got to respect everybody at state,” Cejudo said, measuring every word. “They’re all good. But I still have an edge.”

Cejudo shrugged his shoulders and said matter-of-factly, “Wrestling is my job.”

He’s ranked No. 1 among U.S. juniors, No. 1 among high school wrestlers and No. 6 among U.S. seniors in his weight class.

Since transferring to Coronado as a junior, he’s 44-0, 21-0 this season. His high school record is 114-3 with three state championships, two in Arizona.

He’s twice beaten Jason Powell, the 2004 NCAA champion, and bested Besik Kudukhov, the Russian junior world champion, Nov. 19 in New York. Cejudo lost to Kudukhov on Jan. 28 in Russia.

“Henry is one of the top four high school wrestlers ever,” said Mitch Hull, national teams director for USA Wrestling. “Not everybody has wrestled up (against older competition). Dan Gable didn’t. But I rank Henry with Jimmy Carr (1972 Olympian as a high school senior), Dave Schultz (1984 gold medalist) and Cary Kolat (2000 Olympian).”

Wasson senior Tony George, who won his regional Saturday, could meet Cejudo in the championship match.

“It would take a miracle for somebody to beat him, but miracles do happen,” George said. “I don’t know if people realize how far above everybody else he is. I don’t think anyone will score on him and I don’t think anyone will go three periods.”

Coronado coach Matt Brickell, asked if Cejudo could lose, said, “There’s a chance . . . sickness, injury. I don’t see it happening. He’s a machine.”

After winning the Pueblo Centennial Invitational on Jan. 14, Cejudo said it was “good practice.” Against high school foes, he typically scores a takedown, but lets the opponent up, giving away an “escape” point.

“He doesn’t ‘mat’ wrestle,” said Coronado senior Cole Nash, a title contender at 135. “His only pins are from takedowns. I’ve learned a lot from watching how aggressive he is. He just breaks a person’s morale.”

When asked how many weight classes he could move up and win the state championship, Cejudo didn’t hesitate. “Heavyweight,” he said.

Pete Rose once said superstars must have an “inner conceit.” Cejudo possesses that in abundance.

“I’ve never met anybody as confident,” Brickell said. “He can say something and back it up. There are a lot of tough kids around the country, but I think Henry’s mind — his mental attitude — is what sets him apart.”

Born in south central Los Angeles, Cejudo didn’t really know his father. He grew up in a part of Phoenix he called “little Mexico.” It’s a time and place he was happy to escape.

“Most of my friends were up to no good,” Cejudo said. “Here, I found Disneyland.”

He was invited to wrestle at the Olympic Training Center at a women’s camp in the summer of 2004 to help women develop against fast, strong male competition. His wrestling partner was Patricia Miranda, who won a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics.

With his brother Angel — who is two years older and ranked No. 9 in the U.S. at 132 — Henry was then invited to move to Colorado Springs and hone his skills at the Olympic Training Center. So the brothers Cejudo moved to Colorado Springs.

At 5-foot-5 and 125 pounds — give or take a big meal or a day of fasting — Cejudo is a small package of tightly wound talent. Quick and strong, he’s a master technician with moves polished from two years of practice at the OTC.

Away from the mat, he’s quick to joke or flash a mis- chievous grin. But when the game is on, so is his attitude.

“If it’s checkers, I’m aggressive,” Cejudo said sharply.

Soccer was his first love but it wasn’t right for the quick-tempered perfectionist.

“There were too many people to get mad at,” Cejudo said. “They didn’t always do what they were supposed to.”

In wrestling, if he loses, Cejudo doesn’t have to look far to find fault. He scowled when asked about his recent loss to Kudukhov, ranked 13th in the world.

“I want to be the best,” Cejudo said. “I want to win the Olympics. I want to win the world championships.”

With those goals in mind, Cejudo might forgo college and continue his development at the OTC. Besides, the classroom isn’t his favorite place.

“I’m a big fan of learning,” Cejudo said. “But I’m not a big fan of school.”

Hull said Cejudo sees the big picture when it comes to chasing his lofty goals.

“He’s beyond the normal scope of what people think of after high school,” Hull said. “He has to figure out which route is best for him.”

Cejudo’s game plan is to make the 2008 Olympic team, when he will be 21.

“You’ve got to think big, and do big,” he said. “If I set a goal, I’ll reach it sooner or later. And it’s usually sooner.”

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0250 or bob.stephens@gazette.com

STATE WRESTLING

Wrestling State tournament at Pepsi Center

Thursday, 2A/3A preliminaries, 3 p.m., 4A/5A preliminaries, 7:15 p.m.

Friday, 2A/3A quarterfinals, 10 a.m.; 4A/5A quarterfinals, 1 p.m.; all semifinals, 7:15 p.m.

Saturday, State tournament at Pepsi Center: consolations, 11 a.m., third- and fifth-place matches, 2:30 p.m., finals, 6:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased through TicketMaster, 1-303-830-8497, at TicketMaster outlets or at the Pepsi Center box office. Each session is $8-$12.

whack stuff

I was going to blog this at the request of a friend, but I see Abu Sinan has beat me to it:

British Soldiers Beating Up On Kids

Direct link to site with the video here.




Also a lot in the news in the way of rumors of Bush wanting to attack Iran. I really hope he is not that crazy/stupid. No country is perfect, but God bless Iran.

Yes, it is a very very stupid idea (not to mention, um, Wrong!)

Ashura

As a result of the post "Ritual and Reason" below, which appeared in a few forums, I was accused of being an 'azadari basher', meaning someone against mourning on Ashura, and of basically being arrogant and anti-Shia. The accuser said that no one has the right to question azadari.

First of all, I didn't say anything to question azadari.

But secondly, in Islam anyone has the right and even the responsibility to question, even to question the existence of God, the nature of God. So of course someone has the right to question any practice. If people never question, then the result is that truth is lost over time due to corruptions that are never questioned. A brother mentioned a case in a village where people killed sheep or goats and then put the blood on themselves to commemorate Ashura - he mentioned it as a clear example where a practice becomes unIslamic even if done with apparently an Islamic intention.

And thirdly, so what, i want to know the origins and details of practices. Why should they not be known? Knowing that can only help to strengthen or improve practices. And to make it clear, I never condemned any particular practice or said that it should not be done, etc.


Finally, if you love someone, living or dead, you feel sad at their pains and joy at their joys. Remembering helps to preserve truth. Walayah requires empathy and compassion and walayah is the means to know someone, associate with them, follow them. If you do not have walayah for someone you cannot claim to be his/her follower or friend. Now expressing that walayah for Imam Husain (as) does not necessarily require any particular methods. Whatever those methods are, unless they are wajib (which in this case they are not) the methods are not what makes someone Shia or not or Muslim or not, or lover of Ahlulbayt (as) or not. It is the walayah. Everything should be judged in the context of walayah and shari'ah.

On another note,

for Ashura I went up to Fort Collins, about 150 miles north of here, to attend a small gathering at which Sheikh Idris led ziyarate ashoura and dua alqamah and gave a short, wonderful speech. I am very glad I went. Someone told me about it just the night before, so I consider it a blessing to have heard about it and gone. Further, I got to talk to Sheikh Idris's wife which was also wonderful.

I knew about spanish, italian and I think Ukranian

I didn't know it was in Indonesian ( I think).

Pakistan earthquake collection ended

The SimplyIslam click campaign to raise money for victims in the Pakistan Earthquake has ended, so I removed that link from my sidebar. But TheHungerSite is still there so you can still click daily if you find the causes and charities worthwhile.

Ritual and Reason - on the discussions of reform in Muharram observance in response to culture and audience

I open this writing with a few passages from other sources:


“They should know that if a sentence creates a tremor in one's souls and attunes it with the spirit of Husayn ibn 'Ali and, as a result, one small tear were to come out of one's eyes, it is really a precious station. But tears drawn by the scenes of mere butchery, even if a deluge, are worthless.” – Ayatollah Mutahari, in “’Ashura: Misrepresentations and Distortions”

Many of today’s Christians do not really care that the traditions are separated from their roots. If we allow means to be the ends then we head in the same direction of having traditions and rituals for their own sake, separated from true purpose.

Whenever that happens, this is among the greatest of all possible losses. We cannot be those who try to uphold Islam original if we do not keep that as our active intention and form every act for the achievement of that purpose. If the purpose of a procession or majlis or gathering is to let people learn about Imam Hussain (as) and true Islam and to reform ourselves, then how it is done should be designed for that accomplishment rather than for anything else – be it the performance of matam or whatever. That design may depend on the audience and circumstances and what works for one audience and circumstance may not be the best design for another. We should not become tied down to a few ways of doing things but should be adaptable within the bounds of Islam. We should observe the wajib acts and seek out the mustahab acts, but always associated with their purposes and not separated from them.

I heard someone asking why is the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (as) and the tragedy of Karbala considered a sad event. Why aren’t we joyous that they achieved martyrdom and saved Islam? Why do we observe it with sadness at all?
Is the purpose of Muharram to get sad?

I think these are valid questions and worthy of thought and not quick dismissal because they are honest and sincere questions. I read that when the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (as) approached, he acted as if he were invigorated and energized in battle knowing his time was near. It is reported that Qasim, upon hearing that the men would all be martyred, asked if he would as well, being a young teen. Imam Hussain (as) asked him how he felt about it and he replied that it was something he really wanted, to achieve martyrdom along with the adults. They all knew with confidence they were on the side of right and that martyrdom would be a good outcome for them. We also know through history that although they did die that they were the ultimate victors. They were the victors because they achieved their purpose. They never separated their acts from their active intentions. They never sought martyrdom as a merit in itself or an end in itself. If they had wanted martyrdom as an end in itself, they could have achieved it on many prior occasions. Rather, they understood that the worth of their martyrdom was in its purpose of standing against oppression and standing up for truth and upholding the true Islam for mankind even up to today. Yet we also read that Imam Sajjad (as) mourned greatly throughout his life over the tragedy. If we love someone sincerely, then we feel their loss and pain as our own. So the sadness is an outcome of the love, and the love is what we need - love for those close and dear to Allah swt and for Allah swt himself - whatever imperfect love we are blessed with in response to Allah swt's perfect love.

We should feel grateful that they made that sacrifice, and we should honor it through careful attention to real Islam in everything that we do to the best of our ability. But we should also feel pain at their sufferings that were very real. To make the sacrifices they made and to go through the trials they endured was very difficult. It is sad and shameful that it was necessary. It is sad and shameful that still the message is not heeded. If one imagines for a moment that a loved one has died to save another, would not one still feel sadness, loss, and sorrow? What people are more beloved to the true followers of Ahlulbayt (as) than the Ahlulbayt (as)? If one imagines a Muharram observance that takes joy as its means, would the message of reform remain? What is Muharram about if not reform?

Reform for its own sake is again something gone away from true Islam. Real reform is not a departure but a return. It returns our actions to the root of pure active intention of fulfilling our ultimate purpose in existence. Imam Hussain (as) showed us what reform is and how to live it and how to die in it. I feel that is what Muharram observance should be all about.


So whatever someone does that is permissible for observance of Muharram, be it of any type and any fervor, Allah swt bless him with an attentive heart. Love Allah swt, love Ahlulbayt (as), feel the love and then act on it not only in mourning or Muharram observance, but in self-reform in Allah swt's way.

Muharram 3 / 4 - prophecy/history context of sacrifice

What I share are my own thoughts and they may have imperfections so I do not offer them as absolute truth but perhaps matters for thought and discussion.

A second important aspect of the events of Karbala that I feel it is important to discuss is context in prophecy and religious history. The sacrifice of Imam Hussain (as) at Karbala is a monumental event, a pivotal event in religion. Without it, truth is lost. If it is so important, then in the way of Allah swt, it should not be a great mystery or secret.

The passing of successorship by the appointment of Allah swt, as discussed in the last letter, is the way of Allah swt as evidenced by the history of the prophets (sa). So what about the sacrifice of Imam Husain (as)? Is it an event that comes out of nowhere, unlike the other major events of religious history?

Significant events in the plan of Allah swt for delivering guidance to mankind are not sudden unexpected and unforetold events. Early prophets foretold their successors and future events. The preceding scriptures to the Qur’an surviving in the Bible and elsewhere include several references in which prophets foretold the coming of the Prophet Mohamed (saw):

Acts 3:22-25
For Moses truly said unto the fathers, a Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, unto him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the Prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers saying unto Abraham: And in they seed shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed.

Deuteronomy 15, 18-19
The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him shall ye hearken. I will them a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto them, and will put My words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which he shall speak in My Name, I will require it of him.


These two passages without a doubt prophecy the coming of “that prophet”, Muhammad (saw). Only he fits all the conditions mentioned – being from the brethren of the Israelites – the Arabs, that he came to speak to ALL people and not just a particular tribe or group, that he is descended from Abraham and connected to the covenant of Abraham established with the advent of circumcision after the birth of Ishmael from whom Muhammad is descended, and speaking only the words that God put in his mouth and none other.

Other passages in the Bible show that people were aware of these prophecies and asked about them, looking for the coming of Muhammad (saw):

John 1:19-21


And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not, but confessed ‘I am not the Messiah.’ So then they asked him, what then, are you Elias? And he said ‘I am not.’ Are you That Prophet? And he answered ‘No’.

From this line of questioning to the prophet John the Baptist, it is clear that in addition to the Messiah, Jesus (as), the people were also waiting for and expecting someone else, the one in the scriptures referred to as “That Prophet”, and described in the conditions above that only Muhammad (saw) meets.

So, when Jesus (as) came, there was yet another to come, called “That Prophet”. If he did not come, then the prophecies would not be fulfilled, contrary to the ways of Allah swt.

Jesus (as) himself on multiple occasions mentioned that there was yet another prophet to come after him, in accordance with the prophecies.

John 14:7,8
Nevertheless I tell you the truth, that it is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter (Arabic: Ahmad, a name of the Prophet Muhammad (saw)) will not come unto you, but if I depart I will send him unto you, and when he is come he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.

John 16:12,13
I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when the ‘Spirit of Truth’ is come he will guide you unto all truth for he shall not speak of himself but whatever he shall hear that alone shall he speak and he will show you things to come.

This ‘Spirit of Truth’ is clearly the same “That Prophet”; we know this because Jesus (as) tells us it is the one who the scriptures say does not speak of himself, and the only person who matches that prophecy is Muhammad (saw). Clearly it is not Jesus (as), because Jesus (as) himself is saying that this prophet is yet to come. And clearly it is not an angel or spirit, because the previous scriptures say it is a man, a prophet.

The successorship of rule is a history with Allah swt beginning with Adam (as) and continuing to Muhammad (saw), but especially firmly established in a covenant between the prophet Abraham (as) and Himself.

The covenant between Abraham and God includes mention even of the 12 imams, the third of which is Imam Husain (as);

Genesis 17:10,23
This is My covenant which ye shall keep between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised…. And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day as God had said unto him.

Genesis 17:20 (part of God’s promise in this covenant which is signified and remembered by circumcision)
And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee; Behold I have blessed him and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly: Twelve Princes shall he beget and I will make him a great nation.

Some wording in translations of the Bible seem to try to imply the covenant only goes through Isaac, but 17:23 above shows clearly it is between Abraham and “thy seed after thee” which includes Ishmael. The twelve princes are not descended from Isaac so they can in no way be associated with twelve tribes of Israel nor the disciples of Jesus (as); the only people who fit the bill of this promise of God are the twelve Imams (sa) descended from Ishmael from Imam ‘Ali (as), Imam Hasan (as), Imam Husayn (as), and up to the Imam of our age (as).

Therefore it is apparent that the act of circumcision, the sign of this covenant between God and Abraham is a sign for all of us of this promise of the coming of the twelve imams (sa) and the prophets so that we all may be aware of them, listen to them, and follow the right guidance to our own benefit and blessing. God has told us from the time of Abraham (as), then, that all the prophets including ‘that prophet’ Muhammad (saw), and the twelve princes from Ishmael, the twelve imams (sa), would come.

Abraham was commanded by God to sacrifice his son. Abraham obeyed God as did his son and they prepared for the sacrifice. But at the last minute, Abraham was spared of the task, and the sacrifice of the ram was used to replace it and to become a symbol of the later, Greater Sacrifice.

Qur’an 37:105-108
O Abraham! Of course thou hast faithfully fulfilled the dream, thou art of the truthful ones, but verily it is an open test, we have substituted it with a Greater Sacrifice. We have transferred it to later generations.

Hajj commemorates many aspects of prophet Abraham (as)’s life. Why Abraham (as)? I think it is because the covenant is established with Abraham (as); it is through this covenant that Muhammad (saw) and the imams (sa) are promised. One of the hajj rituals centers on this test to sacrifice his son, and the hajj rituals wind down with the reminder of the Greater Sacrifice that is in its place, via the symbol of the slaughter of an animal that is then (ideally) given to the needy. I find it very interesting that the hajj takes place and then shortly thereafter the new year begins and the dates of the sacrifice of Imam Hussain (as) occur. It is as if the hajj itself is a reminder of this covenant and a signal of the fulfillment of this covenant in Muhammad (saw) and the twelve imams (as), and a sign of Imam Hussain (as)’s role in this covenant that is to come very soon on the calendar. One leads to the other. At the time of the symbolic sacrifice, the head is shaved. In the old scriptures, shaving the head is a symbol of mourning, as is wearing plain clothes like hajis do.

Isaiah 22:12 (note also the weeping and beating the breast, both of which are central in the modern practices of memoriam of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (as) and his companions in Karbala – here those practices are, called for by God.)

On that Day the Lord called for weeping and beating the breast, for shaving the head and putting on sack cloth.

I don't know if the parallels between hajj and Karbala are really there or not, but I am amazed how when looking at it there seem to be soooooooo many.

Now the Christians believe that the sacrifice that replaced the one tasked upon Abraham (as) was that of Jesus (as). But the Qur’an tells us no.

Qur’an 4:157
And their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Mary, the apostle to Allah; and they did not kill him nor crucify him, but it appeared to them so and most surely those who differ therein are only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure.

Further the Christians say the sacrifice that was spared was of Isaac, so that the replacement should be of his seed, as is Jesus (as), while the earlier scriptures and the Qur’an say to the contrary that it was Ishmael who was spared; suggesting the replacement may be of his seed, as is Imam Husayn (as). It is in the line of Ishmael that the symbol of the Greater Sacrifice has been maintained in the hajj rituals.

There are numerous prophecies relayed from the Prophet (saw) and preceding imams (as) about the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (as) at Karbala. In the Bible, there is no prophecy of the crucifixion. Not much in the Old Testament or Torah refers to a sacrifice of a description that would really match the crucifixion events.

But there IS a prophecy that at least seems to match the events of Karbala.

Jeremiah 46: 10
For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries; and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood; for the Lord God of hosts has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

The sacrifice is the means of the vengeance against those who reject to covenant between God and man, those who reject the prophets and imams (sa), because in that sacrifice is the ultimate victory of truth established and the ultimate loss of the losers set solid.

And now that the sacrifice is made, it is a great victory for the martyrs and a great victory for truth, but it is still a case of mourning. Why? It is because of the need for the sacrifice in the first place – the pervasiveness of evil and misguidance and wrongdoing, of oppression and suffering inflicted on the innocents. The matter is not yet over, for the twelfth prince (as) has a further vengeance and further establishment of Truth to fulfill. We await the return of our Imam (as) in completion of the prophecies from the beginning, fulfilling the covenant of Abraham to its fullest. Are we ready?

another one soon insha'allah

I haven't really been feeling myself this week; last night I went to bed at 6:30 p.m. because I had just had enough of the day I guess. Things are just getting to me. But each day is a new day so today could be different. Anyway, I have some thoughts for a second Muharram entry but haven't been able to write it yet; I am hoping to get it out later today insha'allah.