I have very little time to write these days, because it's time to go back to school.
I taught for twelve years before I "retired" in order to pursue my writing career. For the past three years I have concentrated on my writing, and homeschooling one of my sons. But this year I'm back in the classroom, teaching classes in social studies, reading and language arts to middle school students. I hope I'm ready.
When I first met my husband, I was surprised at how seriously he spoke about education. I was a typical American kid who often hated school, but kept going because it was expected and, besides, I'm not a quitter. Much of my school career was about putting one foot ahead of the other. But my husband actually enjoyed going to school. He had learned how to enjoy learning. I have always enjoyed learning too. Just not in school.
I think attitudes about education in this country have become worse--or at least stranger. Politicians blame teachers and implement standardized multiple-choice tests to measure the abilities of the students. Even though any educator will tell you that doing well on a standardized multiple-choice test with a number 2 lead pencil only shows that the student is good at taking standardized multiple-choice tests. There are many levels, many aspects of intellect which simply cannot be measured by filling in ovals with a number 2 lead pencil.
Meanwhile, parents compete with each other to make sure their kid is smarter than anyone else's. Even if they have to do their kid's science project for him. And kids don't really care. Most of them jump through the hoops, doing what is expected so they can be allowed to get back to their video games. The few who do care either get good grades in spite of the politicans and parents, or drop out, either mentally or physically, because school does not meet their needs.
My own philosophy is to let kids be kids. Encourage them to learn, but don't force it. Provide materials and experiences for learning, but don't nag. Don't compete with other parents. Let your kid work at his or her own pace. It is very unlikely that your kid will be a bum. He may take longer to finish his degree, or he may not earn quite as much as the neighbor's kid. But if he is fulfilled, and if he worships his Creator sincerely, then who cares?
Of course, my own children have taken advantage of my laissez faire approach. They concentrate more on learning new skills than getting top grades. They obey their parents, most of the time. They like one another, most of the time. They have friends. They pray. And they know I will give them room to explore and become the men they are meant to be.
I don't believe in letting kids be lazy. My boys have to pull their weight around the house, and they need to finish their homework. But we need to ease up a little. I believe all of our kids will learn much more if they are not forced to learn.
My kids may never win the Nobel prize. They may never be ambassadors, diplomats, millionaires. So what?
As long as they are good people, and true believers, that's all I need from them.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Keeping the FaithAugust 23. 2005 12:00AM
Thank you, Pam Sacks, for this very nice article about me and my family. And Joshua.
August 23. 2005 12:00AMKeeping the faithMuslim writer reaches out to young men of Islam through novel
By Pamela H. Sacks TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFFpsacks@telegram.com
Jamilah Kolocotronis was teaching social studies when she heard about the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.“When I found out, I said, ‘Please don’t let Muslims be involved,’ ”
Ms. Kolocotronis said, giving voice to a vivid and painful recollection.Ms. Kolocotronis and her husband, a native of Thailand, are Muslims who have six sons ranging in age from 9 to 23. Even before 9-11, their three older boys, all teenagers at the time, had long felt they were treated with opprobrium. Muslim extremists had been in the news since the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. “Everyone blames us,” they would say. “Everyone thinks we are terrorists.”
Ms. Kolocotronis, who lived with her family in Worcester from July 2004 until a few weeks ago, is of Greek descent. She converted from Christianity to Islam when she was 23.
As a white woman, coping with prejudice was a new experience.Yet on the day the Twin Towers fell, Ms. Kolocotronis, who wears a hijab, or headscarf, fully understood her sons’ ordeal.“I felt I could not go out, even though I was only a mile from home,” she said. “They talked a lot about the anger on TV. I stayed inside for four days and then took my two older sons with me as bodyguards.”When the mother and sons stepped out the door on Sept. 15, 2001, they were taken aback at how well they were treated.“I had no bad experiences,” Ms. Kolocotronis said. “People were even more intentionally polite than usual.”
Over the last four years, however, the pressures on American Muslims have only increased. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has ground on. The war in Afghanistan was punctuated by a terrorist attack in October 2002 that killed 180 people in a nightclub in Bali. The fighting in Iraq got under way in the spring of 2003; last month, 57 people were killed in suicide bombings in London.“If I go out shopping today and people start staring at me, I’ll turn on the radio right away to see what happened,” Ms. Kolocotronis, 49, said a few days ago from her new home in Milwaukee. “Still overall, you get a lot of the kindness, at the bank and the store. But sometimes you do feel like running.”
Ms. Kolocotronis has chosen to react to events in another way. She has become a novelist, with the specific intention of helping young Muslim men.Her first book, “Innocent People,” was about the life of a Muslim family in the year after 9-11 Ms. Kolocotronis writes about a mother and her five sons. They receive harassing phone calls, and someone throws a rock through the window of the father’s restaurant. At the same time, a Catholic school sends a banner and warm words of support to the children’s Muslim school. Ms. Kolocotronis includes an incident based on something that actually happened to her: The town librarian called to say, “You must be having a hard time. What can I do?”
As the story unfolds, the mother talks to her sons about how they can change the perception of Muslims, just as Ms. Kolocotronis and her husband, Abdul-Munim Jitmoud, have done with their children. “We would ask, ‘What good manners can we have to show people who we really are?’ ” she said.
As an American and a mother of boys, she worried when she heard talk about young men overseas getting involved in terrorism. She concluded that she could, perhaps, offer guidance to young American Muslims, bolstering their Islamic identity to give them the strength to overcome challenges from within and from the world at large.Those thoughts led to her second novel, “Echoes” (Heliographica, $15.95), which was published early this summer. It is the first of a five-part series
Ms. Kolocotronis plans to write about the life of Joshua Adams, a troubled young man from a broken home who drinks, smokes marijuana and gets his high school girlfriend pregnant He marries her. After they have three children, he walks out.Joshua is taken in by Muslim friends, and he converts. He is introduced to a Muslim girl and falls in love. As he fights his old habits and confronts past mistakes, different Muslim men are always present to offer guidance and help. Still, as Ms. Kolocotronis puts it, “Change does not come easily. Joshua must deal with the echoes of his past.” Gradually, he realizes fulfillment comes from dedication to God and caring for others.
Ms. Kolocotronis emphasizes the sense of community in Islam, that an important part of the faith is to support and care for one another, as opposed to being caught up in personal needs and goals that can be a source of alienation. “You pray shoulder to shoulder,” she said. “When you greet, you shake hands.”
A photograph of Mrs. Kolocotronis with her family shows a woman with an open, cheerful demeanor — one who seems to have found her place in life. During a lengthy phone interview, she talked quickly and often laughed at herself. Her legal name is Linda Jitmoud. She was born Linda Kolocotronis and took Jamilah as her Muslim name. Jamilah Kolocotronis is her pen name; she prefers to use it in public forums.As a young woman, she was a devout Lutheran. She met her future husband while studying religion and philosophy at Truman State University in Missouri. “I was strongly Christian, and I tried to convert him at first,” she said. “I asked him to come to church with me, and he brought a copy of the Qu’ran. I was really embarrassed.”
Believing she wanted to be a Lutheran minister, she entered a seminary in Chicago, but was soon disillusioned and returned to Missouri. After she carefully studied the Qu’ran, it came to her in a flash one hot and muggy that night that she wanted to convert. She dashed off to a little mosque that Mr. Jitmoud and two other Muslim men had formed.“I said I was thinking about being Muslim,” she said. “They immediately gave me the confession of faith. I decided to give it a year, and by the end of the year, I was completely convinced.”
After she and her husband were married, she followed in Mr. Jitmoud’s footsteps and entered a doctoral program in social science education at Ball State University in Indiana. He worked at odd jobs to support their growing family so that his wife could complete her studies.Now, Mr. Jitmoud administers Muslim schools while his wife teaches and writes.
The family has lived in Seattle, the Midwest and Thailand. They were in Kansas City for 12 years before Mr. Jitmoud became principal of Alhuda, a Muslim school in Worcester.The Jitmouds found Worcester’s Muslim community to be welcoming and generous. But Massachusetts was less to their liking. “I was surprised at the provincialism,” Ms. Kolocotronis remarked. “I would have thought it was very progressive. Most people don’t realize there’s a life outside of Massachusetts.”And the drivers are rude, she said, laughing. “I was really happy when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series because everyone was polite for two weeks.”
As a doctoral candidate, Ms. Kolocotronis focused her research on Islamic jihad, or, the struggle against injustice. She started with the taking of American hostages in 1979 in Iran. She looked at jihad in Pakistan, Iran, Egypt and Afghanistan during the 1980s In studying the religious roots of jihad, she said she learned it is meant to be used only as a defense against aggression. “We don’t just go out and attack,” she said. “There is no killing or destruction of property, no death by fire or bombs of any kind. One prophet said, ‘Don’t even harm trees.’ ”
Faith is a common subject in the family. The Jitmouds’ eldest son is in France studying Arabic. He married a Spanish woman he met in class and will become a father in five months. The other children are at home.
A Muslim, Ms. Kolocotronis said, is someone who obeys God.“I can say that 9-11 was not done by Muslims,” Ms. Kolocotronis said with conviction. “Whatever the political motivation, they couldn’t have done it in God’s name. They were not Muslims in the sense of acting in Islam. I wonder how much they believed.“I guess none of us can know.”
August 23. 2005 12:00AMKeeping the faithMuslim writer reaches out to young men of Islam through novel
By Pamela H. Sacks TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFFpsacks@telegram.com
Jamilah Kolocotronis was teaching social studies when she heard about the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.“When I found out, I said, ‘Please don’t let Muslims be involved,’ ”
Ms. Kolocotronis said, giving voice to a vivid and painful recollection.Ms. Kolocotronis and her husband, a native of Thailand, are Muslims who have six sons ranging in age from 9 to 23. Even before 9-11, their three older boys, all teenagers at the time, had long felt they were treated with opprobrium. Muslim extremists had been in the news since the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. “Everyone blames us,” they would say. “Everyone thinks we are terrorists.”
Ms. Kolocotronis, who lived with her family in Worcester from July 2004 until a few weeks ago, is of Greek descent. She converted from Christianity to Islam when she was 23.
As a white woman, coping with prejudice was a new experience.Yet on the day the Twin Towers fell, Ms. Kolocotronis, who wears a hijab, or headscarf, fully understood her sons’ ordeal.“I felt I could not go out, even though I was only a mile from home,” she said. “They talked a lot about the anger on TV. I stayed inside for four days and then took my two older sons with me as bodyguards.”When the mother and sons stepped out the door on Sept. 15, 2001, they were taken aback at how well they were treated.“I had no bad experiences,” Ms. Kolocotronis said. “People were even more intentionally polite than usual.”
Over the last four years, however, the pressures on American Muslims have only increased. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has ground on. The war in Afghanistan was punctuated by a terrorist attack in October 2002 that killed 180 people in a nightclub in Bali. The fighting in Iraq got under way in the spring of 2003; last month, 57 people were killed in suicide bombings in London.“If I go out shopping today and people start staring at me, I’ll turn on the radio right away to see what happened,” Ms. Kolocotronis, 49, said a few days ago from her new home in Milwaukee. “Still overall, you get a lot of the kindness, at the bank and the store. But sometimes you do feel like running.”
Ms. Kolocotronis has chosen to react to events in another way. She has become a novelist, with the specific intention of helping young Muslim men.Her first book, “Innocent People,” was about the life of a Muslim family in the year after 9-11 Ms. Kolocotronis writes about a mother and her five sons. They receive harassing phone calls, and someone throws a rock through the window of the father’s restaurant. At the same time, a Catholic school sends a banner and warm words of support to the children’s Muslim school. Ms. Kolocotronis includes an incident based on something that actually happened to her: The town librarian called to say, “You must be having a hard time. What can I do?”
As the story unfolds, the mother talks to her sons about how they can change the perception of Muslims, just as Ms. Kolocotronis and her husband, Abdul-Munim Jitmoud, have done with their children. “We would ask, ‘What good manners can we have to show people who we really are?’ ” she said.
As an American and a mother of boys, she worried when she heard talk about young men overseas getting involved in terrorism. She concluded that she could, perhaps, offer guidance to young American Muslims, bolstering their Islamic identity to give them the strength to overcome challenges from within and from the world at large.Those thoughts led to her second novel, “Echoes” (Heliographica, $15.95), which was published early this summer. It is the first of a five-part series
Ms. Kolocotronis plans to write about the life of Joshua Adams, a troubled young man from a broken home who drinks, smokes marijuana and gets his high school girlfriend pregnant He marries her. After they have three children, he walks out.Joshua is taken in by Muslim friends, and he converts. He is introduced to a Muslim girl and falls in love. As he fights his old habits and confronts past mistakes, different Muslim men are always present to offer guidance and help. Still, as Ms. Kolocotronis puts it, “Change does not come easily. Joshua must deal with the echoes of his past.” Gradually, he realizes fulfillment comes from dedication to God and caring for others.
Ms. Kolocotronis emphasizes the sense of community in Islam, that an important part of the faith is to support and care for one another, as opposed to being caught up in personal needs and goals that can be a source of alienation. “You pray shoulder to shoulder,” she said. “When you greet, you shake hands.”
A photograph of Mrs. Kolocotronis with her family shows a woman with an open, cheerful demeanor — one who seems to have found her place in life. During a lengthy phone interview, she talked quickly and often laughed at herself. Her legal name is Linda Jitmoud. She was born Linda Kolocotronis and took Jamilah as her Muslim name. Jamilah Kolocotronis is her pen name; she prefers to use it in public forums.As a young woman, she was a devout Lutheran. She met her future husband while studying religion and philosophy at Truman State University in Missouri. “I was strongly Christian, and I tried to convert him at first,” she said. “I asked him to come to church with me, and he brought a copy of the Qu’ran. I was really embarrassed.”
Believing she wanted to be a Lutheran minister, she entered a seminary in Chicago, but was soon disillusioned and returned to Missouri. After she carefully studied the Qu’ran, it came to her in a flash one hot and muggy that night that she wanted to convert. She dashed off to a little mosque that Mr. Jitmoud and two other Muslim men had formed.“I said I was thinking about being Muslim,” she said. “They immediately gave me the confession of faith. I decided to give it a year, and by the end of the year, I was completely convinced.”
After she and her husband were married, she followed in Mr. Jitmoud’s footsteps and entered a doctoral program in social science education at Ball State University in Indiana. He worked at odd jobs to support their growing family so that his wife could complete her studies.Now, Mr. Jitmoud administers Muslim schools while his wife teaches and writes.
The family has lived in Seattle, the Midwest and Thailand. They were in Kansas City for 12 years before Mr. Jitmoud became principal of Alhuda, a Muslim school in Worcester.The Jitmouds found Worcester’s Muslim community to be welcoming and generous. But Massachusetts was less to their liking. “I was surprised at the provincialism,” Ms. Kolocotronis remarked. “I would have thought it was very progressive. Most people don’t realize there’s a life outside of Massachusetts.”And the drivers are rude, she said, laughing. “I was really happy when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series because everyone was polite for two weeks.”
As a doctoral candidate, Ms. Kolocotronis focused her research on Islamic jihad, or, the struggle against injustice. She started with the taking of American hostages in 1979 in Iran. She looked at jihad in Pakistan, Iran, Egypt and Afghanistan during the 1980s In studying the religious roots of jihad, she said she learned it is meant to be used only as a defense against aggression. “We don’t just go out and attack,” she said. “There is no killing or destruction of property, no death by fire or bombs of any kind. One prophet said, ‘Don’t even harm trees.’ ”
Faith is a common subject in the family. The Jitmouds’ eldest son is in France studying Arabic. He married a Spanish woman he met in class and will become a father in five months. The other children are at home.
A Muslim, Ms. Kolocotronis said, is someone who obeys God.“I can say that 9-11 was not done by Muslims,” Ms. Kolocotronis said with conviction. “Whatever the political motivation, they couldn’t have done it in God’s name. They were not Muslims in the sense of acting in Islam. I wonder how much they believed.“I guess none of us can know.”
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Back to Joshua
I seem to be jumping all over the place. One day Joshua, the next day current events. I'm a social studies teacher. so current events is what I do. Even though I'm not in the classroom right now, I always take time out for current events.
It's not all as unrelated as it seems. Joshua Adams is apolitical. He doesn't care. He's been so busy enjoying life that he's never paid much attention to the news. And I think that would describe the majority of people. Especially young people, who often have more important things to do than watch or read the news.
The teacher in me wants to lecture everyone about the importance of keeping current on current events. But the teacher in me also understands the apathy.
Later Joshua will come to care very much about current events. But only when it affects his life. And I think that's how most of us are. We are so busy living our lives that we don't take time out to consider the broad spectrum of issues. And I must confess that there are many issues on which I am nearly ignorant. I gave up trying to follow the Social Security debate, for instance, months ago. I just assume that it won't be there by the time I'm old enough to collect on it. :)
What do you think the most important issue is? The war in Iraq? The high cost of gas? The need for alternative sources of energy? The housing bubble? Palestine? The Iraqi constitution? Keeping our kids safe?
Give me your feedback. What should we be concerned about? And what should we do about it?
It's not all as unrelated as it seems. Joshua Adams is apolitical. He doesn't care. He's been so busy enjoying life that he's never paid much attention to the news. And I think that would describe the majority of people. Especially young people, who often have more important things to do than watch or read the news.
The teacher in me wants to lecture everyone about the importance of keeping current on current events. But the teacher in me also understands the apathy.
Later Joshua will come to care very much about current events. But only when it affects his life. And I think that's how most of us are. We are so busy living our lives that we don't take time out to consider the broad spectrum of issues. And I must confess that there are many issues on which I am nearly ignorant. I gave up trying to follow the Social Security debate, for instance, months ago. I just assume that it won't be there by the time I'm old enough to collect on it. :)
What do you think the most important issue is? The war in Iraq? The high cost of gas? The need for alternative sources of energy? The housing bubble? Palestine? The Iraqi constitution? Keeping our kids safe?
Give me your feedback. What should we be concerned about? And what should we do about it?
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Motherhood and Apple Pie
When I was growing up, there was a saying. "As American as motherhood and apple pie."
So what's happened to this country?
A mother has a son. She carries him in her womb, gives birth to him, feeds, clothes and nurtures him for twenty-four years. When the son is a man, he decides to join the armed forces. He tells his mother that recruiters promised he would never be sent overseas. But he is. And he is killed.
The mother now decides to take a stand against the war which killed her son. The war which continues to kill sons, daughters and Iraqi civilians daily. The war which was started based on the lie of weapons of mass destruction.
A mother stands for peace, in the shadow of her son's death. As American as. . .
But hold the presses. The war president, the one who was supposedly elected because he represents traditional values, refuses to meet with her. His supporters deride her in the media. Some have even decided to show up in person and tell her how terribly unpatriotic she is.
But she's a mother. What is so unpatriotic about that?
The same people who oppose this mother, Cindy Sheehan, also oppose Islam. Islam, they say, lacks values. They label Muslims as being uncivilized.
Who is uncivilized? Muslims, who value mothers?
Or the ones who taunt and insult a mother who mourns for her son.
So what's happened to this country?
A mother has a son. She carries him in her womb, gives birth to him, feeds, clothes and nurtures him for twenty-four years. When the son is a man, he decides to join the armed forces. He tells his mother that recruiters promised he would never be sent overseas. But he is. And he is killed.
The mother now decides to take a stand against the war which killed her son. The war which continues to kill sons, daughters and Iraqi civilians daily. The war which was started based on the lie of weapons of mass destruction.
A mother stands for peace, in the shadow of her son's death. As American as. . .
But hold the presses. The war president, the one who was supposedly elected because he represents traditional values, refuses to meet with her. His supporters deride her in the media. Some have even decided to show up in person and tell her how terribly unpatriotic she is.
But she's a mother. What is so unpatriotic about that?
The same people who oppose this mother, Cindy Sheehan, also oppose Islam. Islam, they say, lacks values. They label Muslims as being uncivilized.
Who is uncivilized? Muslims, who value mothers?
Or the ones who taunt and insult a mother who mourns for her son.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
What's Wrong With Peace, Part II
War is glory. Peace is weakness.
War creates respect. Peace creates disdain.
War. Flags flying, bands playing, soldiers marching in fresh uniforms.
Peace. A bunch of long-hairs sitting around playing guitars and smoking weed.
War makes our nation stronger. Peace shows our enemies how weak we are.
Or, as George Orwell put it, War is peace. Meaning there can be no peace without war. War without end.
Is that the truth? Or just the media-packaged truth?
Prophet Muhammad (S) taught us how to treat our enemies well. There are many examples of this. The greatest example occured in the Conquest of Makkah. Ten thousand Muslims marched into the city from which they had been exiled, and later banned. But there was no bloodbath. No massacre. Only forgiveness.
Prophet Muhammad (S) did not use napalm or depleted uranium to conquer his enemies. He used the truth. And truth won out over falsehood. It always will.
Right now falsehood is in the lead. Might makes right. War. Good. Peace. Bad.
But truth always wins out in the end. It just takes time. It just needs patience.
And that's the greatest thing about peace. Peace is patient. Waiting for the time when men are ready to stop acting like beasts. And sometimes it happens.
It happened many times during the life of Prophet Muhammad (S). What about now?
Pray for peace.
War creates respect. Peace creates disdain.
War. Flags flying, bands playing, soldiers marching in fresh uniforms.
Peace. A bunch of long-hairs sitting around playing guitars and smoking weed.
War makes our nation stronger. Peace shows our enemies how weak we are.
Or, as George Orwell put it, War is peace. Meaning there can be no peace without war. War without end.
Is that the truth? Or just the media-packaged truth?
Prophet Muhammad (S) taught us how to treat our enemies well. There are many examples of this. The greatest example occured in the Conquest of Makkah. Ten thousand Muslims marched into the city from which they had been exiled, and later banned. But there was no bloodbath. No massacre. Only forgiveness.
Prophet Muhammad (S) did not use napalm or depleted uranium to conquer his enemies. He used the truth. And truth won out over falsehood. It always will.
Right now falsehood is in the lead. Might makes right. War. Good. Peace. Bad.
But truth always wins out in the end. It just takes time. It just needs patience.
And that's the greatest thing about peace. Peace is patient. Waiting for the time when men are ready to stop acting like beasts. And sometimes it happens.
It happened many times during the life of Prophet Muhammad (S). What about now?
Pray for peace.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
What's wrong with peace?
Assalaamu alaikum. Peace be with you. Muslims greet one another this way, wishing each other peace.
"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives do I give unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." According to the Gospel of John, Jesus spoke these words to his disciples soon before he left them.
Peace is good. On the surface, I don't think anyone would dispute that. But why do so many people resist peace?
We can start with the resistance against Islam. Islam brings peace to the believer. Peace can be seen in the face of a true believer. But so many try to defame Islam, and find fault with the beliefs and the practices. Pray five times a day? Who has the time? Fast during Ramadan? Do you want to starve yourself? Cover your head? Why would a woman want to enslave herself like that? And I could go on. We've all heard it. The resistance to the beliefs and practices dictated by Allah. Sometimes we hear it from non-Muslims. And sometimes we also hear it from those who claim to be Muslims.
Follow Islam and have peace. It really is that simple. Not that life will never be difficult again. Living is a struggle. But living through Islam, and making our decisions and actions conform to the Word of Allah, brings inner peace. The kind of peace that makes it easy to live with yourself. I'm sure you know what I mean.
We need to tell everyone to stop resisting. Give in to the natural peace revealed to us by Allah. Accept it. Submit. Life will be so much easier.
Once we have the inner peace, we need to work on peace between people. I'll address that in my next post, insha Allah.
"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives do I give unto you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." According to the Gospel of John, Jesus spoke these words to his disciples soon before he left them.
Peace is good. On the surface, I don't think anyone would dispute that. But why do so many people resist peace?
We can start with the resistance against Islam. Islam brings peace to the believer. Peace can be seen in the face of a true believer. But so many try to defame Islam, and find fault with the beliefs and the practices. Pray five times a day? Who has the time? Fast during Ramadan? Do you want to starve yourself? Cover your head? Why would a woman want to enslave herself like that? And I could go on. We've all heard it. The resistance to the beliefs and practices dictated by Allah. Sometimes we hear it from non-Muslims. And sometimes we also hear it from those who claim to be Muslims.
Follow Islam and have peace. It really is that simple. Not that life will never be difficult again. Living is a struggle. But living through Islam, and making our decisions and actions conform to the Word of Allah, brings inner peace. The kind of peace that makes it easy to live with yourself. I'm sure you know what I mean.
We need to tell everyone to stop resisting. Give in to the natural peace revealed to us by Allah. Accept it. Submit. Life will be so much easier.
Once we have the inner peace, we need to work on peace between people. I'll address that in my next post, insha Allah.
Friday, August 12, 2005
More About Joshua
Who is Joshua Adams? Someone I knew in high school? My next door neighbor?
Joshua Adams, the one I've been talking about, is the starring character in the Echoes Series.
The first book, Echoes, introduces Joshua. His life. His thoughts. His problems.
He is a white male, Chicago born and raised, twenty-three years old when he accepts Islam. He expects Islam to be the answer to all of his problems. He doesn't realize that submission takes effort. Echoes is the story of Joshua's jihad al nafs. The struggle against his self and his desires.
In many ways, Joshua is the all-American boy. At least the darker side. He is good looking enough to be attractive to women, and that's fine with him. He likes to spend time with his friends. When he was in high school, drinking and smoking pot were his main forms of recreation. He argues with his mother and fights with his brothers. He sometimes longs for attention from his absentee father. Just an all-American boy.
Until he accepted Islam, Joshua was completely self-centered. If it worked for him, fine. If not, forget about it. That attitude included all aspects of his life. His girlfriends. His jobs. His grades. His family.
Through Islam, Joshua learned that there are other people who matter. He realized that he had an obligation to care about them, and not only about himself. That was a big lesson for a spoiled all-American boy.
Do Muslims always understand that? Do we realize that it's not always about "ME"? Sometimes not. Sometimes we get caught up in our own needs, our own agenda.
This attitude is dangerous. At best, it will cause us to become alienated from our Muslim brothers and sisters. At worst, it will divide the ummah.
But the ummah is already divided, isn't it? On every continent, in every country, every city, there are examples of Muslim against Muslim. Each fighting for what he or she claims to be right. Each caught up in "ME".
Maybe we should start taking care of that. Maybe we should start with ourselves.
Maybe we should start now.
Joshua Adams, the one I've been talking about, is the starring character in the Echoes Series.
The first book, Echoes, introduces Joshua. His life. His thoughts. His problems.
He is a white male, Chicago born and raised, twenty-three years old when he accepts Islam. He expects Islam to be the answer to all of his problems. He doesn't realize that submission takes effort. Echoes is the story of Joshua's jihad al nafs. The struggle against his self and his desires.
In many ways, Joshua is the all-American boy. At least the darker side. He is good looking enough to be attractive to women, and that's fine with him. He likes to spend time with his friends. When he was in high school, drinking and smoking pot were his main forms of recreation. He argues with his mother and fights with his brothers. He sometimes longs for attention from his absentee father. Just an all-American boy.
Until he accepted Islam, Joshua was completely self-centered. If it worked for him, fine. If not, forget about it. That attitude included all aspects of his life. His girlfriends. His jobs. His grades. His family.
Through Islam, Joshua learned that there are other people who matter. He realized that he had an obligation to care about them, and not only about himself. That was a big lesson for a spoiled all-American boy.
Do Muslims always understand that? Do we realize that it's not always about "ME"? Sometimes not. Sometimes we get caught up in our own needs, our own agenda.
This attitude is dangerous. At best, it will cause us to become alienated from our Muslim brothers and sisters. At worst, it will divide the ummah.
But the ummah is already divided, isn't it? On every continent, in every country, every city, there are examples of Muslim against Muslim. Each fighting for what he or she claims to be right. Each caught up in "ME".
Maybe we should start taking care of that. Maybe we should start with ourselves.
Maybe we should start now.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Change
Do you remember Joshua Adams? Joshua tried to change. He embraced Islam, gave up his vices and tried to live a new life. What Joshua learned is that people don't so easily forget. The way he had treated his mother, brothers, ex-wife, children, couldn't be wiped out so simply.
That's life. But still, we seem to be surprised that change requires work. What have you changed in the last year? Your job? Your marital status? Your home? Your habits? Or have you only changed your socks?
The hardest part about change is the resistance. No one resists changing socks, so that's easy. But very few changes go that smoothly.
Have you tried to change yourself? The way you think about things. If so, I know you've caught yourself a hundred times, lapsing into your old ways. You resist change. It takes an active struggle to overcome that resistance.
When change involves other people, it is so much harder. School starts and the kids have to change their bedtimes. The house needs a new look and you want to change the furniture. Someone in your family has a really annoying habit that you simply cannot stand one more day. You get the picture.
So what if we want to change a society? We want to end racism, sexism, economic exploitation. We want fairness, equal opportunity, peace.
Some think it can be accomplished by force. That works, for a while. But not for long. Change cannot be forced. It must blossom.
In the first months after I became a Muslim, I thought about everything I needed to learn and felt overwhelmed by it all. Someone told me, It took twenty-three years for the Qur'an to be revealed, so don't expect to learn everything overnight. It's been twenty-five years now, and I am still learning.
I think, somehow, that Joshua might be able to change the way his family thinks of him. But it won't be fast, and it won't be easy. He must continually deal with the echoes of his past.
I think you will probably be able to change whatever really bothers you in your personal life. Just don't expect any shortcuts.
And I think, if we try hard enough, we may be able to change society. More peace, less hatred. But it won't happen soon, and it won't happen at all unless we all work together and refuse to surrender.
So let's get started!
That's life. But still, we seem to be surprised that change requires work. What have you changed in the last year? Your job? Your marital status? Your home? Your habits? Or have you only changed your socks?
The hardest part about change is the resistance. No one resists changing socks, so that's easy. But very few changes go that smoothly.
Have you tried to change yourself? The way you think about things. If so, I know you've caught yourself a hundred times, lapsing into your old ways. You resist change. It takes an active struggle to overcome that resistance.
When change involves other people, it is so much harder. School starts and the kids have to change their bedtimes. The house needs a new look and you want to change the furniture. Someone in your family has a really annoying habit that you simply cannot stand one more day. You get the picture.
So what if we want to change a society? We want to end racism, sexism, economic exploitation. We want fairness, equal opportunity, peace.
Some think it can be accomplished by force. That works, for a while. But not for long. Change cannot be forced. It must blossom.
In the first months after I became a Muslim, I thought about everything I needed to learn and felt overwhelmed by it all. Someone told me, It took twenty-three years for the Qur'an to be revealed, so don't expect to learn everything overnight. It's been twenty-five years now, and I am still learning.
I think, somehow, that Joshua might be able to change the way his family thinks of him. But it won't be fast, and it won't be easy. He must continually deal with the echoes of his past.
I think you will probably be able to change whatever really bothers you in your personal life. Just don't expect any shortcuts.
And I think, if we try hard enough, we may be able to change society. More peace, less hatred. But it won't happen soon, and it won't happen at all unless we all work together and refuse to surrender.
So let's get started!
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
A Mother
I keep meaning to write more about Joshua, but so much is happening in the news that I just can't ignore.
Down in Texas right now, there is a David v. Goliath kind of struggle going on. A mother, Cindy Sheehan, lost her son in the Iraq War. She went down to Crawford, Texas to demand a personal meeting with Bush. Bush has said repeatedly how much he appreciates the sacrifice of the men and women in the armed services, and their families. This is his time to prove it.
But so far he refuses to meet with her. She is camped outside of his ranch. Her cause is growing, and there are now military families from across the country who are traveling to Texas to join her.
A mother's love. She proudly sent her son to serve his country. But that was before she knew he was headed into an unjust war. Before he went to his death, fighting for nothing more than the misguided vision of a short-sighted administration. Not to defend his country. Simply to advance the selfish agenda of some very selfish people. People who will not send their own children to fight. People who sit back and watch their income grow as a result of the war.
About 1800 American troops have died so far in this war. Including five who died today. Anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed. Cities have been destroyed, including many mosques. The land has been contaminated by depleted uranium. A society, in the cradle of civilization, has been brought down.
Why? Cheaper gas prices? Safety for Americans? Freedom for Iraqis? It hasn't happened.
Cindy Sheehan, and all of the other mothers and fathers who unknowingly sent their children to fight in a corrupt cause, deserve to be heard. President Bush, are you listening?
Down in Texas right now, there is a David v. Goliath kind of struggle going on. A mother, Cindy Sheehan, lost her son in the Iraq War. She went down to Crawford, Texas to demand a personal meeting with Bush. Bush has said repeatedly how much he appreciates the sacrifice of the men and women in the armed services, and their families. This is his time to prove it.
But so far he refuses to meet with her. She is camped outside of his ranch. Her cause is growing, and there are now military families from across the country who are traveling to Texas to join her.
A mother's love. She proudly sent her son to serve his country. But that was before she knew he was headed into an unjust war. Before he went to his death, fighting for nothing more than the misguided vision of a short-sighted administration. Not to defend his country. Simply to advance the selfish agenda of some very selfish people. People who will not send their own children to fight. People who sit back and watch their income grow as a result of the war.
About 1800 American troops have died so far in this war. Including five who died today. Anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed. Cities have been destroyed, including many mosques. The land has been contaminated by depleted uranium. A society, in the cradle of civilization, has been brought down.
Why? Cheaper gas prices? Safety for Americans? Freedom for Iraqis? It hasn't happened.
Cindy Sheehan, and all of the other mothers and fathers who unknowingly sent their children to fight in a corrupt cause, deserve to be heard. President Bush, are you listening?
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Being a Muslimah
I just read the news about a Muslim woman being shoved and verbally abused by three men in a pick-up truck. She is eight months pregnant.
A week or so ago I read that a brother in London, who is a scholar, advised Muslim women to remove their hijabs so that they would not be harassed.
My question is not, why was this woman wearing a scarf when she knew we live in a potentially hostile environment? My question is, what can the Muslim men do to protect the women who choose to wear their scarves in accordance with the law of Allah?
Muslim women must constantly face the world as Muslims, because of our scarves. Muslim men can pretend to be anything they want. Muhammad can be Mo and Yusuf can be Joe. They can dress in tight jeans and loud t-shirts. Sometimes there's the small problem of an accent, but other than that they can blend in.
I've talked with teenage Muslim girls who bristle at the ayah where Allah says he gave men a degree over women. I'm not a scholar, but I've never seen this ayah as saying that men are superior to women. That interpretation would be inconsistent with other verses in the Qur'an. I've always understood that verse to mean that men have natural physical strength, and are unencumbured with difficulties such as the monthly period and pregnancy. Therefore, Allah expects them to use this physical advantage to help women.
This is what I've taught my sons. All six of them. Sometimes they think I'm being too harsh. They don't understand how difficult it can be to be a woman. Especially a mother. They don't know how much strength they have. I've tried to tell them, but I don't think they realize it yet.
My oldest might come to realize it five months from now when his wife gives birth to their first child, insha Allah. When he sees her struggle, I think he'll become much wiser than he is now.
Allah gave men a degree over women. Not so they can be bossy or abusive. So they can help us.
And Allah decreed the hijab for women. When Allah made that requirement, didn't He already know how much difficulty Muslim woman would sometimes face?
We all must be strong. We women must be strong enough to stand up in the face of adversity, and help each other through difficult times. I wish I could go to Virginia right now to hug that sister who was harassed.
We must also strengthen our men. Recognize the leadership of our husbands. Promote leadership in our sons. Communicate with them. Let them know our side of the story.
May Allah help us all.
A week or so ago I read that a brother in London, who is a scholar, advised Muslim women to remove their hijabs so that they would not be harassed.
My question is not, why was this woman wearing a scarf when she knew we live in a potentially hostile environment? My question is, what can the Muslim men do to protect the women who choose to wear their scarves in accordance with the law of Allah?
Muslim women must constantly face the world as Muslims, because of our scarves. Muslim men can pretend to be anything they want. Muhammad can be Mo and Yusuf can be Joe. They can dress in tight jeans and loud t-shirts. Sometimes there's the small problem of an accent, but other than that they can blend in.
I've talked with teenage Muslim girls who bristle at the ayah where Allah says he gave men a degree over women. I'm not a scholar, but I've never seen this ayah as saying that men are superior to women. That interpretation would be inconsistent with other verses in the Qur'an. I've always understood that verse to mean that men have natural physical strength, and are unencumbured with difficulties such as the monthly period and pregnancy. Therefore, Allah expects them to use this physical advantage to help women.
This is what I've taught my sons. All six of them. Sometimes they think I'm being too harsh. They don't understand how difficult it can be to be a woman. Especially a mother. They don't know how much strength they have. I've tried to tell them, but I don't think they realize it yet.
My oldest might come to realize it five months from now when his wife gives birth to their first child, insha Allah. When he sees her struggle, I think he'll become much wiser than he is now.
Allah gave men a degree over women. Not so they can be bossy or abusive. So they can help us.
And Allah decreed the hijab for women. When Allah made that requirement, didn't He already know how much difficulty Muslim woman would sometimes face?
We all must be strong. We women must be strong enough to stand up in the face of adversity, and help each other through difficult times. I wish I could go to Virginia right now to hug that sister who was harassed.
We must also strengthen our men. Recognize the leadership of our husbands. Promote leadership in our sons. Communicate with them. Let them know our side of the story.
May Allah help us all.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Death
We all belong to Allah, and to Allah we will all return.
Two deaths dominate the headlines today. In the world of network news, it is the death of Peter Jennings. Reporter. Anchorman. Someone who has delivered news, good and bad, to a generation of Americans.
In the Islamic world, it is the death of Ahmed Deedat. Muslim. Scholar. Someone who has worked for several decades to deliver the message of Islam to the world.
Peter Jennings was a familiar face to all throughout the U.S. His easy manner. His commitment to his work.
Ahmed Deedat was a familiar name to Muslims throughout the world. His famous debates. His commitment to Islam.
Many others have died in the last twenty-four hours. They remain unknown to all except their families and friends. They were somebody's children, somebody's parents. Some were kind and loving. Some were evil and self-centered. All are dead. All must now prepare to face Allah, with nothing more than their faith and their deeds.
All of us will die one day. How will we be remembered? What will we take with us when we go to meet Allah?
Ahmed Deedat is creditted with bringing countless people to Islam. This is his legacy. Each of us must ask, What will my legacy be?
May Allah bless the soul of Br. Ahmed Deedat, and bring comfort to those who loved him.
Two deaths dominate the headlines today. In the world of network news, it is the death of Peter Jennings. Reporter. Anchorman. Someone who has delivered news, good and bad, to a generation of Americans.
In the Islamic world, it is the death of Ahmed Deedat. Muslim. Scholar. Someone who has worked for several decades to deliver the message of Islam to the world.
Peter Jennings was a familiar face to all throughout the U.S. His easy manner. His commitment to his work.
Ahmed Deedat was a familiar name to Muslims throughout the world. His famous debates. His commitment to Islam.
Many others have died in the last twenty-four hours. They remain unknown to all except their families and friends. They were somebody's children, somebody's parents. Some were kind and loving. Some were evil and self-centered. All are dead. All must now prepare to face Allah, with nothing more than their faith and their deeds.
All of us will die one day. How will we be remembered? What will we take with us when we go to meet Allah?
Ahmed Deedat is creditted with bringing countless people to Islam. This is his legacy. Each of us must ask, What will my legacy be?
May Allah bless the soul of Br. Ahmed Deedat, and bring comfort to those who loved him.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Echoes of. . .
Peace is natural. Conflict is not. And yet most of our lives are full of conflict. Man, or woman, against nature. Against others. Against self.
What if a person, who had lived most of his life in conflict, tried to build a fortress of peace? Would that conflict subside on its own, or would he be required to do more than simply yearn for it to end?
We could ask Joshua Adams. His first five months were peaceful. After that, unending conflict. With his father. His mother. His brothers. His teachers. His classmates. His wife. Himself.
One day he decided to end the conflict. It wasn't the first time he had decided that. The other times, he contemplated suicide. But he could never follow through. This time, he withdrew. He pulled himself away from all the chaos in his life and crawled into a hole, metaphorically speaking, to wait it out.
By the time he emerged, he had found peace. Through Islam.
But he learned that the conflict was still waiting for him. He had changed. Everyone else had not.
So what comes next? What happens when someone is ready to change the world, but the world is not ready to be changed?
What if a person, who had lived most of his life in conflict, tried to build a fortress of peace? Would that conflict subside on its own, or would he be required to do more than simply yearn for it to end?
We could ask Joshua Adams. His first five months were peaceful. After that, unending conflict. With his father. His mother. His brothers. His teachers. His classmates. His wife. Himself.
One day he decided to end the conflict. It wasn't the first time he had decided that. The other times, he contemplated suicide. But he could never follow through. This time, he withdrew. He pulled himself away from all the chaos in his life and crawled into a hole, metaphorically speaking, to wait it out.
By the time he emerged, he had found peace. Through Islam.
But he learned that the conflict was still waiting for him. He had changed. Everyone else had not.
So what comes next? What happens when someone is ready to change the world, but the world is not ready to be changed?
Friday, August 05, 2005
Echoes of Peace
Peace and blessings to all who read this.
I'm not sure where to start. Do I talk about myself? If so, do I mention my family first, or my career interests, or my writing? Do I talk about world events? Or do I play it safe and talk about the weather?
I suppose I have to start "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful".
I became a Muslim over twenty-five years ago, and my conversion is the single most important event of my life. Becoming a Muslim changed the way I think about the world. It changed the way I think about food, clothing, you name it. Most of all, becoming a Muslim brought me peace.
These days all we hear about is war. If it's not the war in Iraq or the war in Afghanistan, it's the war on drugs, terrorism, whatever. And war references are everywhere. In sports. In the toy aisle of any store. Even the weatherman talks about how two fronts are battling it out.
But what is war? As the song says, "What is it good for? Absolutely nothing."
Peace is what gets us from day to day. We can find peace in drugs, prescription or otherwise. Or we can look for a genuine peace through faith. I've always believed in the real deal.
So while the headlines blare news of the latest battlefront casualties or the latest drive-by shooting, we need to remember to look for the peace.
I'm not sure where to start. Do I talk about myself? If so, do I mention my family first, or my career interests, or my writing? Do I talk about world events? Or do I play it safe and talk about the weather?
I suppose I have to start "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful".
I became a Muslim over twenty-five years ago, and my conversion is the single most important event of my life. Becoming a Muslim changed the way I think about the world. It changed the way I think about food, clothing, you name it. Most of all, becoming a Muslim brought me peace.
These days all we hear about is war. If it's not the war in Iraq or the war in Afghanistan, it's the war on drugs, terrorism, whatever. And war references are everywhere. In sports. In the toy aisle of any store. Even the weatherman talks about how two fronts are battling it out.
But what is war? As the song says, "What is it good for? Absolutely nothing."
Peace is what gets us from day to day. We can find peace in drugs, prescription or otherwise. Or we can look for a genuine peace through faith. I've always believed in the real deal.
So while the headlines blare news of the latest battlefront casualties or the latest drive-by shooting, we need to remember to look for the peace.
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