October 2008

… too little, too late.

Okay, all silly jokes aside, but this video is pretty fascinating. It shows a Jewish guy praying in a way I’ve never seen Jews pray in before. You see, I’m pretty much used to seeing you Jews do a lighter version of the “head banging” heavy metal fans like to do in rock concerts.

I’m talking about the back and forth nodding, but this? Oh, I’ve never seen a Jew do this before, but I certainly do see plenty of Muslims do it.

Heck, it’s almost the same way we Muslims pray.

Fascinating!

(hat-tip: Wasalaam)

Here’s an interesting documentary you should watch. One of the things that struck me the most is the Muslim Somali driver who proclaimed he’d be willing to fight and die for America because of the opportunities she’d given him.

I don’t doubt the guy’s honesty. I’ve met my fair share of Muslim immigrants in America who are annoyed by numerous issues including foreign policy, but ultimately have a deep appreciation and love for their newfound home.

The Aljazeera dude making the documentary on the other hand attempts tirelessly to pull out all the negative comments he can, but fails most of the time. At least that’s my perception. Eventually he admits that the negative preconceptions he arrived to America with were pretty much wrong.

The documentary also points out some pretty intriguing symbolic references to Islam in the designs of buildings in Washington DC, and explores the long history of Islam in America going back to the days of slavery.

Here’s Part 1 of 4.

Here are the other parts:

• Part 2 of 4
• Part 3 of 4
• Part 4 of 4

Ex-Catholic, Neale Donald Walsch is an author I’ve been intrigued by lately even though spreads around New Age bumbo jumbo. In this talk he proceeds to eloquently present one of the reasons he left the Catholic Church. Some of what he says applies to all the major faiths and is very thought-provoking.

I mean seriously, eating meat on Friday was a sin? Really? I didn’t know that.

He gets bonus points for his idea on what he calls separation theology.

Watch it, and leave your response if you have one.

A recent conversation between my mom and I went like something along the following lines. Believe me, I tried compromising as much as I could but still, no conclusion was reached.

Drima: You do realize, there’s a high possibility I won’t end up with a Sudanese girl.

Mom: But why?

[click to continue...]

Oh well, at least they’ve managed to flee from all the killing and bloodshed.

May they find peace and stability in their new home, and may the filthy butchers who drove them away and slaughtered their people face the fates they deserve.

And along with the second debate, Obama was the better performer in this one.

I liked how he sailed through McCain’s attack and question about Ayers calmly and rather eloquently like it was no big deal. On the other hand, I loved how McCain looked into the camera and started talking directly to “Joe.”

It was kinda funny, but I liked his emphasis on the importance of smaller government. His performance in this debate was better than the previous one which is ironic, since the format of the previous debate is supposed to be McCain’s favorite - town halls. During the first debate, he was the winner though.

Overall after watching the two candidates hit each other back and forth, I’m coming out in favor of Obama but with my nose squeezed tightly.

Thing is, when the race began, I was backing McCain. I wanted to see him win. Moreover, I wanted to see Hillary and Rudy lose, lose, lose.

Thank goodness them two did.

Obama was a no-name so I didn’t even pay attention to him. But then his phenomenal rise began, and the rest is history.

I like McCain, and I don’t have the kind of hatred many on the left have towards him, but ultimately, I believe his choice for VP was terrible. It served him well but only in the short-term. Moreover, I’m tired of seeing the lack of pressure being exerted by Elephants on Sudan to implement the CPA and settle the Darfur conflict.

Darfur is an issue which is more important to liberals since conservatives are more concerned with Iran and the War on Terror, (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). Not only that, but Biden has switched his interventionist position on Darfur too to something more acceptable. On top of that Obama is staunchly in favor of Net Neutrality. McCain isn’t strongly so, which isn’t so nice.

Am I comfortable with my choice?

No, but one needs to be made, regardless of the big question marks.

And the big question marks that remain aren’t over Iraq or Afghanistan.

They’re over Iran, Pakistan…

… and the current US economic crisis!

So says Hitchens.

Sullivans isn’t happy either.

And neither am I.

In fact, here’s the relevant part from the “About Drima” section.

The War on Terror: I fully support it in principle but partially in implementation. The elimination of al-Qaeda is something I am proudly and staunchly in favor of. Many people tend to forget that it is we Muslims who are the number one victims of this heinous cancer and sickening brutality.

I supported the war in Afghanistan and still do as I believe it to be necessary. As for the war in Iraq, I was against it but given the new complex reality I now oppose a haste withdrawal.

The execution of the war and the use of unethical means – “enhanced” interrogation techniques, Guantanamo Bay, CIA-led outsourcing of torture – in the overall War on Terror are issues I’m harshly critical of.

Cool, so that says it all in a matter of few sentences.

Still, others disagree.

The best argument in favor of torture I’ve ever come across so far is by Sam Harris, NYT best-selling author of The End of Faith, which I immensely enjoyed reading twice recently.

I’ve got to say, while I have some very strong disagreements with some of Harris’s conclusions and stances, I have a significant level of admiration and respect for his ability to present powerful arguments eloquently, with reason and without resorting to political correctness.

Read his very thought-provoking defense of torture here.

Hi everyone, how are you all?

Please forgive me for my long absence. I’ve been neglecting my responsibilities around here, and the result is a hit in the amount of incoming traffic and a pile of dirty spam rotting in comments moderation.

Ever since I started this blog more than two years ago, I’ve managed to keep it updated almost daily. So yes, 10 days of inactivity is certainly a record, and a bad one to be ashamed of.

I have two reasons (or excuses, if I may call them that). Firstly, I was feeling really down for a while as I was dealing with a new difficult intellectual phase I found myself going through, and secondly because I’ve also decided to immerse myself in a lot of writing.

Let’s just say that through writing intensively alone about subjects I’ve managed to avoid so far, I’ve learned about myself things I never thought possible or even existent. It forced me to confront some ideas I was too afraid to admit to myself and now that they’re out on paper, they’re coherent.

They’re real.

And they’re staring right back at me as if to remind me that, yes, indeed they did come out from my mind.

I can’t disown them. I can’t “unmine” them.

They’re mine.

Or are they not?

There are many things I wish to share but I’ll do it at the right time and in the right way.

I won’t be making any promises with deadlines since I’ve found myself breaking too many due to unforeseen circumstances time and time again. For now, I’m just going to continue doing what I’ve been busy with behind the scenes, and I’ll let things rise up to the public view as they progress naturally.

I’m sooo gonna miss this once the race is over. Hilarious!

I don’t ever remember reading books as ferociously as I am now in my free time. Besides writing, it’s the main reason I haven’t been posting as much as I should.

It’s a strange paradoxical feeling really. On one hand, mentally, I feel so liberated from the narrow restricted world-view I previously held, but on the other, I feel lonely sometimes.

I feel lonely when I’m around members of my traditionalist Sudanese community. I feel lonely when I find myself the only one cringing at some of the ridiculous remarks being uttered amongst friends. I feel lonely when I’m at a mosque on the day of Eid feeling disgusted as I listen to a heinous, heavily politicized sermon, that has little to do with Eid itself.

I feel lonely because I can’t express my newfound voice sincerely or on an articulate level others in my surroundings will be able to grasp and relate to. And so, I drift away further towards those who do or merely towards more books, and as that happens, the situation only worsens as I come into contact again with those with whom I parted ways into a different and highly “radical” perspective.

In times of weakness, I wish I could just go back to the orthodox comforts of yesterday, but I can’t, and I won’t.

This status-quo is dead, and I am free.

This liberation is worth the anguish and loneliness that comes with it sometimes. Nonetheless, what matters most to me now is how I put it into good use.

Back to reading and writing.

Seriously, think about it.

Mooncakes were used as a medium by the Ming revolutionaries in their espionage effort to secretly distribute letters in order to overthrow the Mongolian rulers of China in the Yuan dynasty. The idea is said to be conceived by Zhu Yuanzhang and his advisor Liu Bowen, who circulated a rumor that a deadly plague was spreading and the only way to prevent it was to eat the special mooncakes. This prompted the quick distribution of the mooncakes, which were used to hide a secret message coordinating the Han Chinese revolt on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.

Another method of hiding the message was printed in the surface of mooncakes as a simple puzzle or mosaic. In order to read the encrypted message, each of the 4 mooncakes packaged together must be cut into 4 parts each. The 16 pieces of mooncake, must then be pieced together in such a fashion that the secret messages can be read. The pieces of mooncake are then eaten to destroy the message.

Cool.

I woke up early just to watch the damn thing. Hey, I’d be a complete idiot to miss such sweet entertainment.

After the two disastrous interviews Palin did, I was expecting Biden to tear her into pieces. He didn’t, firstly, because she’s a woman and that would be mean, and secondly, because Palin did surprisingly well considering her major screw ups previously. Nonetheless, Biden performed better overall I think, regardless of his stupid inaccurate comments about Lebanon and Gaza.

He offered solid answers and strategies. Plus, he wasn’t reading from his notes as much as Palin was. Sure, Palin was cute, animated and folksy, but her answers came across sounding memorized.

At this point of the race, I’m not bothered with cliche speeches about hope or cute smiles anymore. I’m just dying for some real concrete answers concerning foreign policy, especially towards Sudan, and BAM, Biden finally gave me that.

He’s not for forced intervention in Darfur using US troops anymore. However, he now stands for a more aggressive push aimed at putting all peacekeepers on the ground, and providing more security for the displaced populations.

Sweet.

I’m slightly relieved and now leaning further towards the Obama-Biden ticket, but I still await the remaining debates. Yes, yes, I know, I’m such a meticulous “voter.”

During the McCain-Obama debate, I thought McCain put up a better performance. Nonetheless, I’m appalled at his choice for VP, because it indicates a selfishness to put one’s self ahead of one’s country.

Seriously, who cares if Palin got the conservative base excited, the man is old, and let’s face it, his body might fail him. Does he really think Palin can lead if he goes bye bye?

That’s not to say that I’m in love with Obama like most of the world is. In fact, if I do end up picking him, I’m going to do it holding my nose.