Ignorance, arrogance and the rise to popularity due to these two negative characteristics may increase your blood pressure, get you defensive and ready to act out.

But, wait…

Radical actions are not the answer. Allah says, “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not transgressors” (Al-Baqarah 2:190).

Sometimes you stumble upon right-winged pundits or those who are not convinced that stereotypes are never true. When talking to such people stay to the point. Do disagree but don’t remain adamant on changing them. Your attempt at logic will suffice even if they disagree.

The  Qur'an says, “To every People have we appointed rites and ceremonies which they must follow, let them not then dispute with you on the matter, but do invite (them) to your Lord: for you are assuredly on the Right Way. If they do wrangle with you, say, 'God knows best what it is you are doing. God will judge between you on the Day of Judgment concerning the matters in which you differ” (Al-Hajj 21:76-69).

Remember Allah said to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), “If then they turn away, We have not sent you as a guard over them. Your duty is but to convey (the Message)…” (Ash-Shura 42:48).

Everything in moderation is essential. When inviting one to the teaching of Islam
Allah says, “Invite (all) to the Way of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious. Your Lord knows best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance” (An-Nahl 16:125).

It is clear that not everyone will understand the message of Islam or why you follow it. Allah says, “And say, 'The truth is from your Lord, so whosoever wants let him believe and whosoever wants let him deny” (An-Nahl 16:29).

Though others may push their values, morals and teachings on you, don’t push back harder. Be gracious and gentle with your words and actions.





 

Since I was eight years old, there has been one tradition that my family has been partaking in that I don’t think will ever get old ! Every Friday, without a doubt, my father attends Jumuah (Friday prayers) at Madina Masjid, and every Friday afternoon, I come home from school to the wonderful smell of Madina Halal Pizza.

Madina Halal Pizza is located on the north side of Danforth in between Greenwood and Donlands (1078 Danforth Ave) and it has the best pizza I have ever tasted. I have gone to numerous pizza places and tried many, many different pizzas, both homemade and store bought, but none has come even close in taste.

It’s a cozy little restaurant, snuggled in between a line of other small shops. The only difference is, on Fridays, it is overflowing with people. The employees are amazing and the customer service could never be better.

The pizza is always fresh and extra cheesy; their combos are the best deals to get for lunch.The following are their combos which are (1 Slice of Pizza by itself is $1.50):

• 2 Slices of Pizza and a pop (or bottled water): $3.50
• 1 Slice of Pizza and a pop (or bottled water): $2.25

They also sell chicken wings and whole chicken as well (which is also awesome!). I am not sure about the rest of their menu, but I do know that it probably tastes as good as everything else I have tried.

 I think the only thing that should be worked on is getting more employees for their busy days, Friday. Occasionally, I’ve noticed that the pizza slices are not always equal...which isn’t necessarily a problem until you realize that your slice of pizza is no bigger than half a slice of bread...

Other than that, the prices are reasonable and the food is great and always fresh, and it’s 100% HALAL. What more could a person want?

As the Vancouver 2010 games wrapped up and Canada swelled up in pride with its highest gold medal count and its victory over the USA in hockey; I sat there in front of my TV with a smile on my face.

That was then and this is now…

From the opening ceremony to closing ceremony I’ve realized that I was never represented as a host. Because I’m not a fiddler nor am I an aboriginal (to be fair the Host Nations were not 100% correctly represented – e.g. the Inukshuk does not represent any of the four Host Nations).  I am a Canadian born Muslim with Indian ancestry.  Not an ounce of my culture, beliefs or what makes me Canadian was represented.

Where was the presentation of minorities that make up the multicultural fabric that is Canada in the Olympics? Did I miss this segment? Was it on Pay Per View?

Canada had its chance to eliminate several stereotypes we have in the world. Rather we decided to dedicate our tax funds and our international air time to further your misconceptions of us. But, hey at least now you know we can make fun of ourselves. We are good at that. So don’t feel left out when you’re making fun of us instead give us a call so we can join in with you.

The Olympic Games have become a modern day battlefield where the country with most medals basks in its supremacy. Moving away from the amateur sports competition it has become about the best professional and therefore has become exclusive to those athletes who can afford the latest and most expensive gear.

So, when an athlete wins a medal how does a nation benefit? Who do the ceremonies represent?

Maybe I will have an answer by 2014. 

Annual week-long campus demonstrations condemning Israeli activities have come to be known as IAW (Israeli Apartheid Week). Activism and free speech have always been the right of Canadians, but recently, MPPs from all three political parties passed a motion by a Progressive Conservative Party MPP.

This is a cause of worry and frustration because the right of expression is a fundamental right of all Canadians, and it seems that the Canadian government is being biased towards Israel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

NDP party leader Andrea Howarth was one of the few who openly denounced this motion introduced by the Tories. The Tories are arguing that IAW can be offensive and likened to hate speech, but in reality it is just voicing the discontent with Israel’s oppressive methods towards Palestinians.

As university students, we should have the right to analyze, evaluate and criticize any actions or policies…whether they are domestic or international. If universities cannot be a platform for students who are encouraged to analyze and criticize, where shall we take our thoughts?

My thoughts come in the form of facebook statuses or tweets.
They are short, concise and to the point.
Often very revealing and like sorts of epiphanies. 

I’ve been told due to my short sentence structures I sound very adolescent.
The word count is my greatest enemy. My vocabulary ceases to exist after the period.
And then I ruminate before starting the next sentence.
Fortunately like my thoughts the attention spans of many are as short.
Giving bursts of revelations helps the absorbing process.
The times when miracles do happen and I manage to find words to explain my feelings;
I find the diffusion process failing.

Long winded arguments in text are a turn-off.
Rather watch a video or listen to the same song on repeat.

So, I think? What is better?
My creativity dwindling or well thought out sentences structures no one will read?

It’s one of those days. You woke up late and missed a make-up test for a test you missed before because you woke up late. You just got a call from your manager and you’ve been “laid off.” Your friends are being acting up. Your laptop died mid essay writing. You walked home soaking wet because you, like a genius, forgot your umbrella even though rain has been forecasted for three days. You just looked at your calendar and realised that it’s early March and assignment deadlines and final exams loom in the not so distant horizon, dark and threatening a violent storm. It seems like the hours of the day are getting shorter while your to-do list just keeps stretching out; there seems to be no relief in sight.

In situations like this, it’s so easy to wallow in misery and let bad feelings fester. So, here are a few reminders that insha’Allah will help to keep yours and my chin up!

 - Umar al-Khattab (radiallahu anhu)  whenever he faced any difficulty, he would be take heart and say:

1)     The calamity is not losing one’s deen. 
2)     It could have been worse.
3)     Allah forgives my sins for my suffering.
4)     Any loss after losing the Prophet (SAW) is nothing.

- The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wassalam) said : “How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something good happens to him, he is thankful for it and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience and that is good for him.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2999). 

- The Messenger of Allah (salAllahu alayhi wassalam) said: “The du’aa’ of the person who is in distress is: ‘Allaahumma rahmataka arjoo fa laa takilni ilaa nafsi tarfat ‘ayn wa aslih li sha’ni kullahu laa ilaaha illa anta (O Allaah, for Your mercy I hope, so do not leave me in charge of my affairs even for the blink of an eye; rectify all my affairs. There is no god except You)’”

 - And Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’ala) has said in the Qur’an: (translation) “Verily with every difficulty there is relief.” [Ash-Sharh 94:6]

And really, at the end of the day, how bad do we really have it? There are people who have lost loved ones. There are people facing bombs, occupation, earthquakes, famine and homelessness. Allah has blessed us, and real calamities (may Allah protect us) and these off days are excellent in reminding us to be thankful. Alhamdulillah. 

The Harper administration and the conservative Party of Canada have named Gerard Latulippe to be president of the federal organization responsible for promoting human rights and democracy around the world.

This is man that was rejected by all three opposition parties, Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois due to his hyper-partisan. But, the Harper government decided otherwise and named him late at night after the 11pm broadcast of the news.  

Gerard Latulippe wrote a report that warned the provincial government of Quebec in 2007 against Muslim immigrants. According to Latulippe assimilation with Muslim immigrants can’t occur and that allowing such immigrants increases the risk of domestic terrorism. 

“Geographic concentration of more and more immigrants from Muslim countries” undermined “the proper functioning of Quebec society.”

It seems as if being Islamophobic is plus for the Harper government to let one access taxpayer money, some of which comes from the Muslim immigrants.

Recently, I was going through some of my old Philosophy work and I happened to come across some work on atheism, the doctrine or belief that there is no God, and I came across this interesting exchange between student and teacher.

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He asks one of his new students to stand and...

Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.

Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm? (Student is silent)

Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fellow. Is God good?
Student: Yes.

Prof: Is Satan good?
Student: No.

Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From God...

Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.

Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.

Prof: So who created evil?
(Student does not answer)

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?
Student: Yes, sir.

Prof: So, who created them?
Student has no answer.

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No, sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.

Student: No sir. There isn't.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.

To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir? (The Professor shakes his head)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain? (The class breaks out into laughter)

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room is silent)

Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving and alive.

Nowadays, we have science proving everything to us, left and right. Many a times, we get lost in the wonders of the scientific findings and perhaps lost our faith just a little. We must remember that without faith, we have nothing.