Sucessfull Road Trip- Bismillah!

Alhamdulihah- we had a safe return from  our 4 day road trip- I went through New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, and back home.

Sat night 8pm-
we left and drove south and through New Mexico. I didn't see any of the city but stopped at a cool truck stop that had late night barber shops and my first snowglobe. We also went to Las Vegas, NM. It was exciting leaving my state for the first time in so long. I think I ran over a frog which was so horrible : (

Sun to Mon-Arizona
We arrived exhausted in Arizona and when I woke up from my nap in the car I was really freaked out- there are palm trees in Arizona! I had never seen them before and thought they were only in Cali. We fell in love with Phoenix- the mountains look odd compared to the Rockies and it's hot but there is something so pretty about the area and the city is huge with a lot of mosques- I read about a mosque in Tempe that is run by young poeple and is mulitculutral with frequent social events.  We also went looking for the University of Phoenix home campus but it all looks like corporate office buildings so that was disappointing.

We stayed in a nice hotel  [the attendant was kinda rude but whatever] and slept for a while after driving around town to get a feel for the place. We stopped by a Krispy Kreme which is no longer at home and later we went out and found our first In N Out burger- yummy! [though now I'm sick of burgers and fries] We also went the home of the Arizona Cardinals and the place my tutiion paid for, the University of Phoenix Statium. We also tried to find a park within the city but went at night and couldn't. I enjoyed walking around the hotel back area with a nice park and we tried in the morning to go to a Bosnian place "the Sarajevo Cafe" but a death notice was on the door and they were closed [God bless them]

Mon to Tues- Cali
We drove to California and saw the Mexico border in the distance- crazy! We passed by a border patrol and came close to running out of gas- my husband wasn't paying attention. There was beautiful sceanery along the way. Entering Cali was surreal- it felt odd to finally be in this oft mentioned place. We stopped by another In N Out. From there we went to the football game- very odd being the visiting team but there were a lot of Bronco fans there. We were very early but just walked around the statidum. The game was amazing and of course I represented by screaming and cheering my head off {I still have a raspy voice} and exchanged congrats with other bronco fans and even some barbs with Charger fans. From there it was dark and too late to visit Sea World so we drove around and ate at Weinerschniztel [open late- very cool!] and yummy!! We drove to Coronado and went across the bridge onto the island which was beautiful. I saw the beach for the first time, but it was dark and I was disappointed about our timing. We decided to drove to Vegas but when I awoke from my car nap, my husband said he was too tired and we got a hotel in Sun City, CA- overpriced but I didn't like the idea of sleeping in the car.

Tuesday- Nevada
We drove to Nevada and it was so fun to see the lights of Vegas- we drove through the strip and saw the Eiffel tower, New York New York, and the Stratsosphere, which I didn't ride on. The rumors on 'the food is cheap' is not true and the buffets were all $15 and up. I found out my drivers license was not valid [had a hole in the expiration and I forgot to bring the paper from the DMV when I went to get my replacement] so I couldn't get the hotel room I booked through AAA and after a lot of back and forth, all was settled and we got an upgraded hotel suite- awesome!!! From there we entered the land of inner rooms with flashing lights, slot machines, and casinos who don't want people to ever leave the inner building. I played some penny slots but it was confusing. My husband wanted to explore the other side of Vegas with me- yeah right. We walked the strip and saw the volcano show and the water show, went to the M and M store and passed way too many people hawking porn. There were a lot of different cultures in the tourists and we could hear the passing  conversations in different languages. The bellagio was very nice with the conservatory and Paris had a pretty inner area with a sky ceiling. I saw some other hijabis and the next day went to the oldest mosque in Vegas that Mohammad Ali went to. One cool thing was going to the wax museum and the scary tour area of it. When we got back, my husband was tired so I went to the Fremont Street Experience- I loved being out with open businesses at midnight. We joined up and watched the light show and fussed at each other- which was at a minimum considering our previous trips. In the morning we ate at Weinerschnitzel a last time and went on the road

Wednesday- NV/AZ/ Utah/ CO
We drove through the remaining three states and Utah was very pretty with alot of cows but we could see the mountains again. I stopped by a gas station but it looked too country to my husband so we drove on. The frustrating part came in CO when we got lost on the way to my parent's house- a lot of arguing and wasted gas, and foggy driving with snowy streets- I really missed Phoenix at that point and when we got to their house and walked into snow- very cold. My husband's car got stuck in the snow and my poor parents helped us at 3am. We finally got home and it felt odd- I'm ready to travel again!

Reflection- Personal Struggles and Faith

Searching through YouTube to find inspiration for my own personal conflicts, I came across the video series
Depression, Sadness, Hopelessness, and their Cures whose speaker was Bilal Abdul-Kareem.


http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?pi=0&ps=20&sf=&sa=0&sq=&dm=0&p=26E248E994915D4D# 


One phrase that he used which stuck with me was this:


"Life on earth is paradise for the unbelievers and hell for the believers"


-meaning that unbelievers live life on earth doing what they want as they desire, without regard of consequences or obligations/ believers have to live life on earth with the constant struggle of decadance, temptaions, having their limits and self control tested, and living with the heartache of others' crimes against each other. Believers have to live with all of these and remain faithful and hopeful, which can be challenging and depressing at times

another common phrase is "God never gives you more than you can handle"
-examples include Hagar, Abraham, Moses, Job, and others throughout history who faced challengening situations and overcame with the guidance of Allah and through prayer for help.


I need to internalize the teachings I have learned and recall them and incorporate them in my life when I feel challenged by the ongoings of this world. I thank Allah for providing me guidance
Allahu Akbar

Current News- Muslim all over the world!

A new poll from the Pew Forum found that 1 out of 4 people in the world are muslim, citing that America has 2million, though the polling has proven hard to do with U.S mulisms. Its great to hear of so many people have embraced the faith- God has done so much in my life as a muslim and I know others will benefit from the peaceful faith.  Alhamdulilah

EMOGRAPHIC REPORT

Mapping the Global Muslim Population

A new study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion. Read the report, which includes the most up-to-date and fully sourced estimates of the size and distribution of the worldwide Muslim population, including sectarian identity, and explore the interactive maps and tables.

Map: Distribution of Muslim Population by Country and Territory

Only countries with more than 1 million Muslims are shown

Current Article- Ban on Islamic Dress

I've been reading the several articles that have been coming out about banning niqab in Egypt- as a western revert, I have chosen to wear hijab to be closer to God- many women wearing niqab believe they are doing the same. 


One thing I'm tired of hearing is 'you're in america, you need to dress like us- when we go to the middle east, we dress like them to respect their culture' - the right to dress as you wish is a right America has granted all people so who are they to say a woman can't dress as they see fit? this is how I feel about the other places- its a woman's choice. personally, niqab could be considered a security issue but an article I read about egypt is that the security guard at a university would ask the women to reveal their face to compare to their ID and they complied so there wasn't an issue. That can be a challenge for those who don't want to show their faces, but that is an understandable reality in particular places.  


As for hijab discrimination, there should be no lawful reason for any woman wearing hijab to be denied to job- what about women who cover their hair with a wig or a scarf due to cancer? The denial is religious discrimination and America has laws against that- abercomie and finch are being sued because of this http://www.utulsa.edu/collegian/article.asp?article=4185  


I myself am highly qualified as a teacher and have graduate degrees- I dare any public school to not hire me due to my hijab if I am an acceptable candidate for the job. Just my two cents :)

Reflections on being muslim- 10 months

As I have been having some tough times emtionally lately, I have been reflecting on my life as a muslim of 10 months. Specifically, when I compare how my illness affected my life last year versus this year as a muslim, I do see great differences.

• -Its unfortunate I still have my illness [though I must remember that being a muslim doesn't excuse me from illness and life's stresses] I see that I am able to work through it and lean on Allah for strength compared to last year when I feel utterly alone and hopeless.
• -I am definately not perfect and have stumbled with the same main issue I've been dealing with for a year- and although I have tremendous guilt, I also feel some sernenity in knowing that Allah loves me and is there for me as I work on getting back to the straight path- that its not 'sin once and you're out of here' kind of feeling. I am a muslim no matter what and I can always improve.
• -When I feel lost and ponder the point of life, my attitude is not so destructive but resigning- I may not know the answers to why I'm here on this earth but I do know Allah has a plan for me and I have to be patient and take one day at a time.

So although my illness hasn't been completely healed, I know that as a muslim, I am not alone and that Allah will always be my support and strength. Thank you so much God for loving me despite myself

Hijab judgement

I've been seeing alot of different information about hijab styles and have been seeing alot of judgemental comments about not wearing the 'right' hijab. Of course, some follow hadiths and sunnah but for me, there are two main points. One, the Quran doesn't state exact specifications of how to wear hijab- only to be modest and cover the bosom. I believe this is meant to provide muslimahs with the free will to determine how they want to honor Allah- whether its with no head covering or a hijab that covers only hair or covers the neck and hair. Two, I know some follow the Sunni/Shitte ways of Islam, but no person has the right to judge- they may feel hijab should be worn a certain way but that is their view of Islam and not universal: we all have our own path to Allah. Bottom line- we shouldn't be talking about others.

[these are similar styles to how I've worn hijab lately]

-My own take is that as long as I feel I am wearing hijab in a manner that is honoring Allah [modest] and do not feel uncomfortable with how I'm wearing it [as in is it too exposing] then I will wear it in a different style. Lately, I have worn it spanish wrap style with some neck exposed and immediatley my husband says 'you're showing too much this and that"- despite the fact that he freaked out about me wearing hijab in the first place. If I feel I am obeying Allah, I can't allow other's judgements to sway me. I like the variety and will still be cognizant of being modest and wearing hijab to submit and honor Allah.

[pics used from http://hegab-rehab.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-07-18T12:24:00%2B08:00&max-results=20 ]