There are times when I feel drained, both emotionally and physically and it is almost always when I read or hear stories like this. There seems to be no end and no limit to the evil that humans can commit and on the top of it there seems to be no end to stupidity legalese of this kind. According to the Islamic version of the story of the creation of humans, the Angels asked God why he was creating humans since the humans will kill their own kind and create much bloodshed and injustice on the world but then God said that he knows what they do not know. I do not know either but they say that in love ye shall find all the answers.

Is there fairness or justice in the world? Can there be justice and fairness in the world? Some say that God has a plan for everything and for everyone but I ask what is it? Should I be complaining? Should I be asking these questions? I haven’t done my part to make the world a better place. May God have mercy on our souls.

I am not really sure what to make of this. Even the person who did this is not sure why he did it, so it won’t be right for me to deconstruct his motives for his actions.

A 24-year-old Australian surfer who sold his life, including baggage from a painful break-up, on eBay says he is still not quite sure why he did it.

Nicael Holt sold his name, phone number and all his possessions, including clothes, CDs, a surfboard, a laptop, a wonky pushbike, childhood photos and a “nice lamp” given to him by an ex-girlfriend, on the internet auction site.

It gets weirder here. Just the fact that his family and friends agreed to participate in this ‘experiment’ makes it all the more interesting (in a weird way of course).

In his sales pitch, Holt said the winner would be entitled to a four-week training course in how to be him — including lessons on how to surf, climb, skateboard, fire twirl and do handstands — as well as two months of on-call support afterward.

He also promised to introduce the winner to all his friends and potential lovers, including eight people he had been flirting with.

I must however say that his actions do raise important questions about the question of identity. None of this really makes sense except one fact which does makes sense i.e., Holt is a Philosophy student.  Don’t worry gals and guys, I won’t do such a thing unless ….. just kidding.

Here is a “gem” (aka nonsense) from Abu Usamah, an American convert to Islam and misogynist. Now the question is was this person always a jerk or did he become like this after being exposed to a certain brand of Islam. I must iterate that the problem is not Islam but rather a certain type of interpretation of Islam. Here is the excerpt.

Abu Usamah: Allah has created the woman, even if she gets a Phd, deficient. Her intellect is incomplete, deficient. She may be suffering from hormones that will make her emotional.

Am I mad? You bet I am. Can these people just shut up for a change?

Today is the Holocaust Memorial day in several countries in Eurpoe. This post is in memory of the victims of one of the worst crimes against humanity in the 20th century i.e., the Holocaust.  Before people criticize me for bringing attention to this day and to this crime and not to others, I will say that we cannot and should forget that millions of innocent civilians died as a result of this horrible event and when we are mourning the innocent people killed, we should not discriminate between Muslims and non-Muslims.

Here is the UN statement of commitment (Source: Wikipedia)

1. We recognise that the Holocaust shook the foundations of modern civilisation. Its unprecedented character and horror will always hold universal meaning.
2. We believe the Holocaust must have a permanent place in our nation’s collective memory. We honour the survivors still with us, and reaffirm our shared goals of mutual understanding and justice.
3. We must make sure that future generations understand the causes of the Holocaust and reflect upon its consequences. We vow to remember the victims of Nazi persecution and of all genocide.
4. We value the sacrifices of those who have risked their lives to protect or rescue victims, as a touchstone of the human capacity for good in the face of evil.
5. We recognise that humanity is still scarred by the belief that race, religion, disability or sexuality make some people’s lives worth less than others’. Genocide, antisemitism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination still continue. We have a shared responsibility to fight these evils.
6. We pledge to strengthen our efforts to promote education and research about the Holocaust and other genocide. We will do our utmost to make sure that the lessons of such events are fully learnt.
7. We will continue to encourage Holocaust remembrance by holding an annual Holocaust Memorial Day. We condemn the evils of prejudice, discrimination and racism. We value a free, tolerant, and democratic society.

Calling all girls: Now we have our very own magazine for Muslim girls (in America). And it was about time that someone came out with a magazine geared towards Muslim girls. Check it out at the following URL:

http://www.muslimgirlmagazine.com/web/index.cfm

What’s up with the Brits? It seems that they are at it again. (Just kidding, I don’t have any problems with the British. They are cool. Its those #$@! fashion designers in London.) The organizers of the London Fashion week have stated that they won’t ban ultra-thin models from their shows. Why don’t they just save themselves millions of dollars and just hire stick figures.

Finally someone in Spain had the sense to put some sense into the fashion industry. According to an agreement between the Spanish government and the major fashion designers in the country, women’s clothing sizes will be standardized. The goal of this move is to promote a healthier self image amongst women. The problem was that a size from one designer does not necessarily mean the same size from another designer and thus many women get the wrong message about their current weight. Hence the compulsion to lose weight. Here is an excerpt from Yahoo! News.

“It is not reasonable for a modern and advanced society to establish stereotypes of beauty that are far removed from the social reality of a community. It is everyone’s commitment that beauty and health go hand in hand,” Health Minister Elena Salgado said at a signing ceremony Tuesday.

The prevalent Zeitgeist in the world these days is what can be termed as Scientism and its twin Objectivity. This world view seems to have penetrated culture to such an extent that a large number of religious people want to prove that their religion is “scientific” or “rational.” This worldview has been challenged by Feminist Epistemologists, the idea being that the rational vs. Irrational, nature vs. culture and masculine vs. feminine dualities that form part and parcel of the modernist programme are informed by constructs of rationality and objectivity that are rooted in notions of masculinity. Although there are a number of critiques of Objectivity from a feminist perspective, the one that I shall on here is Aperspectivity i.e., the notion that one can achieve knowledge of the way things are independent of one’s relation to the things. According to Feminists there is no such thing as “the view from nowhere” and biases are necessary to get the observation off the ground. Thus consider the case of an objective (whatever that means) male observer of women, although the male can be said to objective to a certain extent, one cannot ignore that the male is likely to project his assumptions or notions of how a female is supposed to behave, onto the person that he is observing. Thus the impossibility of a truly “objective” science.

Let me make it clear that women can be as chauvinistic and as bad as men when it comes to gender relations. Regardless of whether one calls it ‘liberation’ of women, being ‘comfortable’ with one’s sexuality or other nonsense, the fact of the matter is that women like Paris Hilton and Britney are not emblems of feminist emancipation. In fact they represent the worst excesses of a compromised feminism i.e., objectification and reduction of women to one dimensional objects, sexual objects to be exact. Consider the following excerpt from an article in the Wall Street Journal.

In fact, Britney was following to its logical end what has become the first rule of contemporary American girlhood: to show that you are liberated, take it off. Liberty means responsibility . . . to disrobe. Paris Hilton, Britney’s BFF (Best Friend Forever), taped her sexual escapades with an ex-boyfriend, though even she was tactful enough to pretend that she hadn’t meant for the video to go public. Courtney Love, Lindsay Lohan and Tara Reid have also staged their own wardrobe malfunctions. But flashing is hardly limited to celebrities. The girls-next-door who migrate to Florida during spring break happily lift their blouses and snap their thongs for the producers of “Girls Gone Wild,” who sell their DVDs to an eager public.

Is it just the men’s fault? Many of them are more than happy in this state of affairs but in this case I think some of us women are to be blamed as well, as Ariel Levy calls them Female Chauvanist pigs. Here is another excerpt from the same article.

Some people believe that it is lingering misogyny rather than naive exhibitionism that leads the public to define women by their sexual anatomy and proclivities. Perhaps there is something to that. But the exhibitionism surely doesn’t help. It seems that men, despite their reputation as braggarts, actually don’t find self-exposure all that appealing. Where are the male counterparts to Britney Spears and “Girls Gone Wild”?

I am not a prude but the media and even people’s (men and women’s) obsession with celebrities like Paris, Lohan and Anderson just makes me sick. I mean aren’t there important things in life. May be all people are shallow and go for looks. So may be there is some shallowness in me as well but there is a limit to shallowness and our contemporary culture is on the verge of crossing that limit.

To all my Muslim sisters, if you ever wondered why Muslim brothers in the mosques or college campuses do not reply to your salam even though the same people may be seen in not so Islamic situations with our non-Muslim counterparts then here is your answer – an excerpt from a translation book used by our brothers to interpret what we say. They have been using it for many years, but now for the glorious make benefit of my sisters I was able to steal obtain a copy. A lot of things should make sense now.

When a non-mehram Muslima says,

 As’salam’o'Alai’kum

it should be taken to mean

I think you are hot.

When a non-mehram Muslima akss,

How are you?

it should be taken to mean

Do you want to hook up?

When a non-mehram Muslima asks,

Brother have you taken the class on Calculus Partial Derivatives?

it should be taken to mean

I am going to seduce you.

When a non-mehram Muslima asks,

What is the prayer time for Jumah?

it should be taken to mean

How about a date, right after Jumah?

So sisters, next time you see a brother being mean to you while being all hunky dory with a non-Muslim woman then remember the above translations. Its not their fault. They are just made like that.