Sunday, March 28, 2010

Islam in Korea

I visited a blog recently and found this video. I really enjoyed it and thought I would share it here:

Some important matters to note:

Imam=someone who leads in prayer. This particular imam in the video is also a Shaykh.

Shaykh= someone who is learned in Islamic matters, through schooling and training through an Islamic institution.

Allah= The One God, not just of the Muslim faith. If *you* believe in One God, then you believe in the existence of Allah. Surah Ikhlas (a chapter of the Koran) explains it:

“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only! 
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; 
He begetteth not nor is He begotten. 
And there is none like unto Him.”

Click here to go to a website that has the Koran in Korean.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Gardening in Huntington Beach

I went gardening today at Golden West College’s native garden. For more info on their garden, click here. If you want to volunteer, just show up on Tuesdays or Thursdays (or both days!) around 10am and just ask if there is anything that needs to be done. If you are like me, you will have found your new hideout zone (well, since I just told you, it’s probably not a ‘hideout’ anymore).

Enjoy these pictures!

IMG00125 IMG00126  IMG00128 IMG00129 IMG00130 IMG00131 IMG00132 IMG00133 IMG00134 IMG00135 IMG00136 IMG00137 IMG00138 IMG00139 IMG00140 IMG00141 IMG00142 IMG00143 IMG00144

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Ruttlo Bhaiyya Ruttlo!!

 

Since it is finals week, I thought that maybe I should do my duty and procrastinate a bit more. All this is for a good cause: my new comic.

I hope you like it. Enjoy!!

stuck in a rutt

I am referring to Pakistanis, Indians, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Nepalese, Maldivians, etc. as South Asian homo sapiens.  

Monday, March 15, 2010

My New Love of Comics!

I found this Muslim lady who makes really cute comics about Muslim stuff. Her website can be found here.

I posted some of her comics on my facebook as well.

Now, here’s my attempt at a comic.

Since Muslims are not allowed to “date” in the Western sense, they have come up with various ways to find out more about their prospective mate. Among these include getting parents involved or perhaps a more complicated approach: asking a friend to go through a  friend who might be friends with the friend of the prospective mate=)

Enjoy!!

steptomarriage

* Halal means permissible and it refers to the permissibility within the Islamic guidelines.

Friday, March 12, 2010

UCI Arboretum: PICTURES!

 

This past winter quarter, I got a tour to the UCI Arboretum for a class. I wish I had known about this place earlier; I would have spent most of my UCI life here! We had the tour on Monday, February 22, but I am putting up the pictures now.

Note: I do not know the names of these plants.

Enjoy the pictures:

 IMG00113 IMG00110IMG00092   IMG00107

 

 

IMG00076 IMG00077 IMG00078 IMG00079 IMG00080

 

 

IMG00082

 

IMG00083

 

 

IMG00105IMG00104 

 

 

IMG00088

 

 

IMG00099 IMG00100 IMG00101 IMG00102

This was my favorite! I LOVED the swing=)

For more information about the arboretum, click here.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

How does a person who is deaf say his/her Shahada?

Shahada is the declaration of faith of a Muslim:

Ash-hadoo An-La ilaaha ilAllah wa Ash-hadoo An-na Muhammad Ar-RasoolAllah

I testify that there is no god besides Allah (The God) and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

(Listen to the Arabic here)

If someone wants to become Muslim, all they have to do is recite the above words in Arabic* and believe in their heart that those words are true. This is usually done amongst at least one other person as witness. Quite simple.

However, I was sitting just now pondering over whether I should study for developmental and cell biology laboratory final (which is tomorrow!) and a thought came to my mind: How would a person who is deaf say his/her Shahada? (There goes the studying…)

First of all, they cannot hear it. It would have to be conveyed through sign language (and yes, there IS Arabic sign language), but that person would have to KNOW Arabic sign language. Then, they would also have to know what they are saying in their own sign language as it cannot be said without understanding.

In other words, someone would need to explain to this person about the Shahada in the language of this ‘prospective Muslim’ and then they would have to ‘repeat’ it in Arabic sign language.

So I googled.

But I did not find anything at all useful. Instead, I found a website called GazaMom. It sounds unrelated, but she had a link to a website about an organization that works with men and women who are deaf in the Palestinian occupied territory. For more information, click here.

Then, I youtubed.

No luck.

So, now I am guessing that very few converts are from the deaf community and we should definitely look into that. Note to self: become an interpreter for people that are deaf. Golden West College in Huntington Beach offers a certificate course in this (more info here).

*why Arabic? Because the last Messenger came from among the Arabs. If Allah wanted to reveal a Quran in English, to bring about a miracle of prose and poetry, etc., He could have done that.
*But still ,why everything in Arabic? This is a unifying element that remains in Islam. Wherever Muslims go, they can pray together. Ex. If a Muslim from Sri Lanka visited Beijing, and if they called out the  Azaan (which is the call to prayer) in Chinese, the Sri Lankan would not know that it is time for prayer. (The mosques in China and Sri Lanka do not look alike either, by the way).

Update (12/22/2011): Guess what I found?!

Adhaan in British Sign Language from Aligraphy on Vimeo.

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