_ I really loved Walt’s Disney’s movie Tangled which was released in 2010. I know I’m a little late for this review but I recently watched it again and was inspired to write this review.

The main storyline goes like this: there is a magical flower that has the ability to heal the sick and injured. An old evil woman named Gothel finds this flower and uses it to retain her youth. One day the Queen of the Kingdom who is pregnant becomes very ill and so the people of the Kingdom search for the flower. Once it is found it is fed to the Queen who delivers a baby girl named Rapunzel. It seems that Rapunzel’s hair has absorbed the magical qualities the flower possessed. Gothel finds out about the child and steals her and takes her to a tower far away and raises her. When Rapunzel is eighteen she dreams of seeing the golden lanterns that are released every year, but she is forbidden to leave the tower.  That is when her saviour comes into the picture- Flynn Rider who is wanted by the kingdom because he is a theif, a very charming and handsome theif. Rider, looking for an escape, sees the tower and climbs it. After confronting Rider, Rapunzel realizes that she will never get another opportunity to see the lanterns so she hides the item he has stolen and forces him to take her to see them. Grothel is not in the tower at the time so the two take their leave peacefully and their day is filled with adventure. So what happens next? Yes, you guessed it, they start falling for each other. But while their love is developing, Grotel has found out that Rapunzel has left the tower and so she plans a way to bring her back. Her plan is to get Rider arrested and put in jail so it will seem that he has betrayed Rapunzel. Rider is taken to jail and Rapunzel back to the tower. However Rapunzel comes to realize that she is the lost princess and that is the reason that lanterns are released every year on her birthday.  She tries to escape but is tied down by Gotel and that is when Rider breaks out of prison and saves her. Reunited with her family, Rapunzel and Rider get married and live happily ever after.

I really enjoyed this film and I especially loved the scenery and the golden lanterns. However, my feelings towards Tangled are bittersweet. This movie is quite misleading and the ideals it presents can become harmful for the child audience. This review is not one which praises Tangled rather it is about taking a close look at the different ideas presented within it.

Tangled is very stereotypical in terms of gender. Rapunzel is innocent, naive and needs to be saved. That’s when the strong, well traveled and hunk Rider comes into the picture. Rider always saves the day with his strength and quick thinking and he falls for this naive girl who needs to be protected from the bad world. Generally girls will grow up thinking that they will need a man to depend on.

The concept of beauty presented in this movie is deeply troubling. Rapunzel embodies the ideal as she has big green beautiful eyes, luscious red lips, perfect teeth, beautiful blonde hair, shinning light skin (she doesn’t even have an acne problem, like seriously she’s eighteen!), she is quite skinny and of medium height. She is perfect! Or is she?  Flynn Rider is also the perfect image of a man. Rider is light skinned, tall, muscular (seriously I though his shirt was going to rip in some scenes because of his muscles) and he doesn’t seem to have an acne problems either! Yay! Also they both speak perfect English. The world is so perfect. Double yay.

Disney has been portraying this image of beauty for so long and it is the ONLY image presented. Almost all of the women in Disney movies resemble Rapunzel which has become the standard. Yes, sure Disney has tried to save its image so there is Jasmine and Pocahontas, the two token women. But Disney repeatedly fails to portray in their characters that beauty is present in all different forms, sizes and colours.  How do they just get away with it? I mean this movie was made in 2010 yet the ideas of Disney have not changed. They are rigid in stone.

The main audience of Disney films are children. Children must have loved the scenery and the story must have appealed to them. But what is the message that has been embedded into their minds about beauty and gender? That is what is truly scary not the old witch, Gothel. Clearly Disney in their movie state that the good people look a certain way and so a child might think: what if I don’t look like that? Does that mean I am bad? Why is my friend repeatedly represented in movies but I’m not? Children will likely conclude that in order to be considered beautiful they must become the standard.

Overall we can enjoy and watch these movies but we should be mindful and critical of the issues and ideas presented within them.

_ For those of us who were there for the memorable Reviving the Islamic Spirit 2011 tenth annual convention, we know it was absolutely packed. The convention, taking place from December 23 through December 25 in the city of Toronto at the Metro Convention Centre, sold out for the first time in its ten-years of revival. Absolutely amazing, knowledgeable, and charismatic speakers such as Professor Tariq Ramadan from Switzerland, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson and Imam Zaid Shakir from the USA, Dr. Tawfique Chowdhury from Australia, Yusuf Islam from the UK, and many other such influential personalities constructed the backbone of this years extremely successful convention, speaking on the theme of the 2011 convention: Control Chaos or Community: three ways, one world, our choice. Along with inspiring and enlightening speeches and lectures, the attendees also enjoyed Revival of the Islamic Arts, notably by world-renowned artists such as Sami Yusuf, Outlandish, Khalid Belrhouzi, Benammi, Junaid Jamshed, and Shaykh Mishary Al-Afasy.

Beginning as an idea among a couple of university graduates, RIS has grown into a convention attracting the worlds top Islamic speakers and artists performing in front of twenty thousand attendees from across the globe. It isn’t only the Muslim community that has benefited from the convention; annually the convention has attracted large numbers of non-Muslims who have taken shahadah at or after attending the convention. May Allah make them strong and steadfast on the straight path.

Each year I have personally witnessed this event grow bigger and better. People of different cultural backgrounds, age groups, speaking different languages, people of different races and colour, come together at this convention once a year under the umbrella of Islam, masha’Allah. All of which is planned, managed, and executed by massive numbers of youth volunteers.

The RIS convention has proven to be an example of the success that can be attained by recognizing the potential of our Muslim youth here in Toronto.

For hockey fans and non-hockey fans alike, HBO's 24/7 Flyers/Rangers: Road to the NHL Winter Classic is a must-see.

It gives everyone the opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the NHL and its players.

In the first episode, Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov philosophizes about the universe.

He says, "Solar system is so humangous big, right? ...If you see our solar system, it was so small, you can't even see our galaxy." He then concludes his thoughts by saying, "So don't worry, be happy."

The series takes fans right into the lockerroom, where you can see coaches pumping up their teams and players bonding. This includes the Flyers' victory dance, something all of the players get into.

It also takes you on the ice, since players are mic'd. You can hear the chirps, the words of appreciation among teammates and the cheers from the players themselves.

But the show also humanizes the players.

Another part shows Rangers captain Peter Callahan meeting his grandmother after a game. His grandmother quickly tells him that a penalty he received in the game wasn't his fault and that if she could, she'd go down to the ref and tell him herself.

So if you want a different look at hockey, be sure to check it out. Be warned though: there is a lot of cursing.

If the weather outside doesn’t match your mood for winter holidays and is more ‘delightful’
than ‘frightening’ then you should type in the following on Google’s search bar: let it snow.
Snowflakes will fall all over the screen and gradually cover the Google result page in snow and
white fog of digital blizzard. If you eventually reach a complete virtual white-out, don’t worry
there is a de-frost button provided by Google too. Then the mouse button can be manually held
to de-frost and wipe off some of the white stuff and can be used to make images just like on a
frosted glass or window.

Another Google Easter egg, “do a barrel roll”, became quite popular earlier this year, completely
rotating Google’s search results. Google regularly swaps its traditional multi-coloured logo towith 'doodles' celebrating key dates or the lives of cult or influential figures

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

(‘Let It Snow’ is commonly considered a Christmas classic although the song doesn’t mention
Christmas at all.)

Le Congo : un cauchemar en milieu d’un vaste paradis. On l’appelle ainsi parce que ce pays est
considéré le cœur de l’Afrique. Riche en ressources naturelles, de fleurs et d’animaux. Cela ne se
suffit guère aux besoins du peuple. Des gens habitants au paradis tout en vivant en plein enfer.
Des milliers et des milliers de personne meurent la bas sans qu’aucun n’intervienne. Chaque
minute et seconde passées, le nombre des morts s’agrandit ne faisant qu’empirer la situation.
Le Congo ne manque de rien, c’est un riche pays. L’argent s’y trouve, les ressources naturelles
s’y trouvent aussi. Cependant, le problème réside dans le désir ardent et immodéré pour ses
biens. Beaucoup d’étrangers ont profité de ce riche pays afin de s’enrichir à travers ses propres
ressources. Beaucoup de pays, sachant parfaitement le conflit que le Congo connait, ferment les
yeux aux nombres de morts et l’abus des enfants. Donc si vous êtes un défenseur des droits des
enfants, vous devriez agir face aux problèmes qu’endurent les enfants congolais. Ou encore, si
vous avez une sœur, une mère ou une fille, et vous préoccupez des droits des femmes, sachez
que plusieurs filles et femmes se font violer et maltraiter au Congo. Si vous portez un diamant
ou un bijou, dites vous que peut être cette merveille est venu du Congo et que beaucoup de
petits enfants ont péris afin que vous le portiez.

Somewhere in the process of growing up, in the pompom ponytails, hours of playing with Lego blocks and Barbie dolls, cycles of fighting, loving, and arguing with your brothers and sisters, you became the woman in the reflection before you today. Taken back into time, the woman that glared back at you was completely unknown and unimagined.

Growing up with a beautiful family, living in your innocence, you created an identity. Taking the best of Belle, Cinderella, and Snow White you formed a fantasy of your own. You’ll grow up to be beautiful one day, intellectually capable, and the soft loved protagonist. Then one day the most handsome and caring prince charming would come into your life and just sweep you off your feet. Quite simple and all figured out right? Not really. But I’m sure if you’re a female, you know exactly where I’m coming from.

As we girls grow older though, these fantasies that we only described to our selves as long awaiting realities, become more and more of a taunting and haunting experience, more than anything. From the length of your hair and the colour of your skin to the size of your waist, you realize you’ll never be your childhood fantasy. That’s probably the biggest question I ask myself today, why were these fantasies so universal, among all of my friends and cousins, we all wanted to be that perfect princess.

What is perfection anyway? Growing up watching and reading about readily labeled beauty symbols such as Cinderella and Snow White, the definition of perfection became encrypted, not only into you, but all the fragile young girls that you grew up with at such a young age. If everyone believed it, it MUST be true. Beauty is to be white. Beauty is to be tall. Beauty is to be thin. The definition is exclusive. Disagree? Sorry, while we were growing up the women who were portrayed to live happily ever after never deviated from this definition. These characters created the realities that they only claimed to describe.

Emerging out of innocence, you look at yourself one day, critically. You’re not fair enough, you’re lips and cheeks aren’t the right shade of pink, and you most certainly don’t see the hour-glass shape in your young and fragile body. There begins the obsession to erase, recreate, and improve your entire existence. You just aren’t good enough. Out comes the concealer, blush, mascara, the curling iron, followed by hours in the gym and guilt filled food indulgences, all in the subconscious attempt to achieve your childhood fantasy.

Then you grow even older, the proposals begin to come in, and you search for perfection. None seem like prince charming. And again, you turn to yourself and begin to question. It must be my complexion, the circumference of my waist, or maybe the shape of my eyes? Something must be wrong. And there is something vey wrong, but it’s with the way perfection and values are subconsciously defined within us.

Fairytales of fair princesses may make great bedtime stories, but they most definitely don’t provide an accurate understanding of self worth. If beauty were so quantified and determining of our fait, we’d see ‘happily ever after’ in the lives of very different people. The woman glaring back at you, as you gaze at the reflection the mirror portrays, may look nothing like Cinderella, but that’s why she’s a splendor of her own.

Hirra Shaikh is currently a third year student at York University.

La mosquée est une institution primordiale en islam, c’est un symbole de l’identité et de la civilisation islamique.

Elle est un lieu de rassemblement des musulmans pour accomplir la prière : les prières quotidiennes, la prière du vendredi, et la prière de « el ‘aïd ». Aujourd’hui la mosquée est devenue aussi un lieu de création sociale, et architecturale comme :

• La mosquée Hassan II à Casablanca qui est un complexe religieux et culturel, aménagé sur neuf hectares et comporte une salle de prières, une salle d'ablutions, des bains, une école coranique, une bibliothèque et un musée. La mosquée peut accueillir 105 000 fidèles et la salle de prières 25 000 fidèles.
  
• La mosquée bleue en Turquie, est certainement l'une des plus célèbres et parmi les plus belles mosquées d'Istanbul et du monde musulman. Le bâtiment principal de la mosquée se compose d'une salle de prière surmontée d'une coupole de 23 mètres de diamètre dont le point le plus haut culmine à 43 mètres. La mosquée est dotée de six minarets, dont la forme élancée est spécifique à l'architecture ottomane.
  
• La mosquée du Taj Mahal en Inde, conçu pour les prières quotidiennes durant la construction du Taj Mahal, cette mosquée est aujourd’hui utilisée pour la prière du vendredi. Elle dispose de quatre tours octogonales et de trois dômes. L’intérieur de la mosquée est couvert de 539 tapis de prière en marbre. Cette mosquée est un mélange de l’art indien et l’art islamique ce qui explique sa beauté extrême.

Chaque mosquée au monde possède son propre style, son propre architecture, mais elle restera toujours un endroit que tous les musulmans partagent.

Et enfin, Je prie Dieu pour qu’il nous accorde le privilège de faire la prière à la Mecque, à côté de son prophète Mohammed (PBSL) et qu'il nous fasse parmi les habitants du paradis. AMINE ! 

It’s tough to be a goat in today’s society. Seem like everyone is looking down at you thinking you’re a part of some inferior species. Staring at you like you are a piece of meat. But you ignore it, keep going. 

And then there are those things that are marketing temptations of what kind of grass you should be seeking and how you should be looking and at times like that you work your hardest to keep your graze down. You’re working hard, doing your thing and hoping for a better tomorrow. Yet sometimes they don’t leave you alone, asking why don’t you go back to where you came from? And sometimes you feel like you should, but then you remember why you came here; you have to do it for your kids. Cause back home they were slaughtering goats and kids alike with no disregard every lunar year. Yeah you were a doctor back home and now you’re nothing but a farm animal working 12 hour shifts each and every day, rolling over whenever the big man says so. But hey at least the kids are safe. 

One day the kids will grow up and be more. They’ll appreciate all the sacrifices you made and almost been a part of. It’s tough to be a goat, but keep striding along and days will get baaaa-tter.  

On December 8, 2011 Scouts Canada’s chief commissioner offered an apology, “to former scouts who were sexually abused by volunteer leaders in the organization.” This apology came two months after an investigation completed by CBC titled, ‘The Fifth Estate’. This investigation revealed that former scout’s leaders abused 340 children from the 1940’s until this present day. More so, Scouts Canada knew about most of these cases and kept a secret list of pedophiles but never did anything about the crimes. The files were kept hidden from the public eye and it was a large scale cover-up.  Steve Kent stated in the apology that the organization, “sincerely and deeply apologizes to any and all former scouts who suffered harm at the hands of leaders.” He also went on to state that all of the former cases and records will be reviewed. As well, an expert panel will be coming together to examine Scout Canada’s current child protection policies.

However, many of the victims of these heinous crimes believe that this apology is not enough because it has come too late and does not heal the hurt and damage they have carried and endured for so many years.  Some also believe that it is a worthless apology because they question why it didn’t come sooner. They want Scout’s Canada to come forth with new and concrete plans to ensure that such things do not happen again.

There was a tray of moustache cookies being passed around as city councillors took their seats at City Hall on Nov. 29. Along with the men, many women councillors were adorning moustaches and a big striped blue tie, marking the end of Movember.

“Movember Canada encourages men to grow a moustache for 30 days during the month of November to raise awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer,” Mayor Rob Ford explained. “Participants are dedicated to the elimination of prostate cancer through research, education, support and survivorship.”

 According to Prostate Cancer Canada, 25,500 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011 alone. As such, Movember participants strive to raise awareness about the disease.

“Together these fine ‘Mo Bros’ and ‘Mo Sistas’ start conversations about men’s health and dedicate themselves to the appreciation of a fine moustachery,” Ford said.

“Therefore I, Mayor Rob Ford, on behalf of Toronto city council do hereby proclaim November 2011 as Movember in the city of Toronto.”

The city council Movember group, the Moliticans, raised $7,029.

Councillor Mike Layton, the son of late Jack Layton who suffered from prostrate cancer, raised $1,170, the most among his peers. According to his Movember profile, he participated in Movember for his mo-father and mo-grandfather.

Like Mike Layton, Councillor Paula Fletcher’s motivation was also to honour Jack Layton. Her Movember profile picture is a photo of her with a photoshopped NDP-orange moustache. Fletcher raised the most among women Moliticians with $320. However like other women at City Hall, she had problems adorning her stick-on ‘stache on the day of Ford’s proclamation, as it kept falling off.
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