Ziad's Notes

IslamicCurriculum.com

2007-01-08T18:18:00.000-08:00

Canada's got a new online Islamic bookstore, and this one is specifically educational books/materials, mainly for kids.

Check it out and give us (my wife and I) a chance to serve you.

http://www.IslamicCurriculum.com

Our products are carefully selected and our prices are competitive. Either our products are priced lower than others stores or if they aren't, most chances are the overall cost (including shipping or the hassle/cost of driving to a store across town) will be lower with us.

We hope to see you soon.

Cartoon op-ed online

2006-02-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

The Misunderstood Reasons for Muslim Outrage (Santa Barbara Independent)

Idealizing your spouse good for you

2006-02-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

AMY CARMICHAEL

CANADIAN PRESS

The struggles of a lifetime together may well take a toll on a couples' passion for each other.

But not on love. There's no age limit on love.

Psychologist Norm O'Rourke says love may help sustain people in their later years.

His research has shown people who idealize their partners later in life, who unconsciously choose to remember only the good things, have fewer incidents of chronic disease.

O'Rourke, an assistant professor with the department of gerontology at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., is now recruiting couples who he will follow over three years to try to find out why.

"In the lab, we're looking at physiological processes that might be related to this idealization process, which seems to be related to superior physical health outcomes.

"Why are people who idealize a spouse more likely to have fewer chronic health conditions?"

He is focusing on the partner in the relationship who idealizes the most. O'Rourke says their view of the relationship has no effect on how the other person sees it. They may or may not idealize. If they do, it could be to a lesser degree.

To find out more, he is working with couples to find a common point of disagreement. Financial issues are most common and then there's sex, inlaws and children.

"Basically, we're asking them to have an argument," says O'Rourke, who has funding for his research on love from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

His lab has been set up to resemble a comfortable living room in which couples are asked to discuss various ways they might resolve their issues.

He tapes the conversations and studies facial expressions and body language in addition to what the couples say to each other.

O'Rourke also takes samples of the hormone cortisol before, during and after the discussion to measure stress levels.

If cortisol levels spike over the course of the discussion and remain high, then he knows that stress levels have increased significantly.

From early results, O'Rourke has noticed where one or both partners idealize their married lives, they don't fight as much as they discuss.

"They approach the talk as an opportunity for growth, to learn something new. They listen and remain calm and rational. They approach it as more of a challenge than fight," he says.

O'Rourke assumes that within these couples, cortisol levels remain relatively low -- and so does the stress.

This is an important finding, because high cortisol levels are significantly associated with illnesses such as heart disease.

O'Rourke says whether people will end up idealizing their spouse in old age depends on their personality factors.

"The most important one seems to be the absence of a trait called neuroticism or a tendency toward negative emotional responding," he says.

"People who are higher in the trait of neuroticism tend to be more on edge, more prone to depression."

O'Rourke says people who aren't neurotic are more easy going, and more likely to idealize their spouse and approach arguments in a calm, open way.

"You know, those people who can withstand travails of life without too much hardship," the psychologist says.

To learn more about the phenomenon of marital aggrandizement, as O'Rourke likes to call this process of idealizing one's spouse, he intends to follow couples over time.

O'Rourke will watch how their health changes and what factors predict these changes.

Anger justified: violence is not

2006-02-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

Thursday, February 9, 2006
Standard-Freeholder, P6
Cornwall, Ontario

Editor's note: Guest columnist Sikander Z. Hashmi is a Montreal-based freelance writer and a graduate of the Al-Rashid Islamic Institute in Glen Walter.

It seems like the ultimate ideological battle: Angry sermons, mob attacks, calls for executions and war, death and kidnapping threats, street protests, boycotts, diplomatic spats, defiant journalists, editors being fired, talk of freedoms in secular democracies, and the list goes on and on.

All because of some cartoons.

The Danish paper Jyllands-Posten printed a total of 12 cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad last September, one showing him wearing a headdress shaped like a bomb with the kalimah (Islamic declaration of faith) inscribed on it, while another had him saying that paradise is running short of virgins for suicide bombers.

A Norwegian publication reprinted the caricatures in January and a handful of other publications jumped on the bandwagon in the last week to express their support for the principle of free expression.

Muslim outrage -- a large portion of which has gone way beyond the teachings of the very prophet the protestors claim to be defending -- has spurred global protests, calls for executions and wars, arson attacks on embassies, kidnapping and death threats, boycotts of Danish products, and diplomatic spats.

Danish dairy firm Arla Foods has announced layoffs as a result of the boycott; national leaders have jumped into the foray. Editors have been sacked in what’s seen to be an attack on editorial independence.

Media reports are quick to point out that Islamic traditions ban depictions of the Prophet. Thus, the understanding is that the outrage has been caused by the seemingly blatant disregard for this “Islamic taboo” by the publications in question, which is why Reporters Without Borders and other journalists and non-journalists alike are fighting the wave of Muslim rage.

Many outraged Muslims will also point to that as the source of their outrage.

But would Muslims express an equal amount of outrage had the Prophet been shown in a positive light based on his teachings, perhaps instructing a would-be terrorist not to kill innocents?

Probably not. There might have been some disappointment over the depiction of the Prophet, but it probably wouldn’t be anywhere near what we’re seeing now.

Thus, the main issue here isn’t the depiction of the Prophet, but rather, the depiction of the Prophet in an incorrect and dishonest manner.

We all know that the principle of free speech is an integral element of a democratic society. We enjoy that right on a daily basis. However, no freedom is absolute. There are always limitations and exceptions.

I can express myself by screaming, for as long as I wish, but not to the detriment of my neighbors.

Similarly, I can publish whatever I want, as long as I don’t tarnish anyone’s reputation by spreading lies or promote hatred against anyone.

The cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, especially the one with his headdress shaped like a bomb, portray him as a terrorist and portray Islam as a religion of terrorists.

Anyone who is familiar with the life and the teachings of the Prophet knows that he was not a terrorist. He forbade the killing of innocents and even ordered his followers not to kill birds and other living creatures unnecessarily.

And even though the Makkans had terrorized him and his followers, he did not respond with the same when he conquered Makkah later on, nor did he let any of the followers terrorize anyone either, even as victors.

While there are groups and individuals who attempt to justify acts of terrorism in the name of Islam, Islam is not a religion of terrorists. If it was, the majority of Muslims throughout history would have been terrorists, which just isn’t the case. The majority of Muslims in Western countries co-exist peacefully with non-Muslims.

It is clear that the cartoons are slanderous towards Mohammad and they promote hatred. No one likes terrorists and by depicting Mohammad – a symbol of Islam – as a terrorist, the implied message seems to be that Muslims are terrorists and they should thus be hated.

This issue is not about Muslims hating freedom of expression.

Rather, it is about the abuse of the freedom to spread hate and fuel stereotypes.

The cartoons are provocative towards a group that has already been victimized as a whole for the actions of a few. But that’s not the only reason for the outrage.

The level of love and sentimental attachment many Muslims have for and with Mohammad is unparalleled, and may in fact be very difficult to comprehend for non-Muslims.

Think of your dead parents or grandparents that you loved dearly.

If someone were to slander them publicly and make a mockery of them, how would you feel? Would you not react angrily and defend them?

For Muslims, their beloved prophet has been slandered and mocked.

He is not here to defend himself, so his followers have taken on the task, out of their love and devotion to him.

The issue of misrepresentation is an important one.

Editorial cartoonists are saying they consider terrorists who use their religion to justify their actions as fair game. But that is not the issue.

Hardly anyone would complain if Osama bin Laden was the subject of satire.

The issue is about linking the prophet of God, in a malicious manner, to offensive actions he didn’t commit, promote nor condone.

The violence we have seen cannot be justified. But it is the result of compounded anger, fuelled by a perception in the Muslim world that the West is on a crusade against Islam.

Many Muslims cite the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the alleged double standard that permits Israel to have nuclear weapons but prevents Iran from enriching uranium for the production of nuclear power, the Hijab ban in France, and now the repeated ridiculing of the most scared figure in Islam, as proof of this "crusade."

Add to that the recent report in the British newspaper The Guardian that Jyllands-Posten refused to publish drawings lampooning Jesus Christ back in April 2003 because an editor thought the cartoons would "provoke an outcry."

Publishing and protesting are both forms of expression, and they must both be exercised within reasonable limits.

Muslims are looking for an apology and assurances that the publication of such malicious, unethical works will not become a new trend.

At the same time, Muslims need to learn how to contain their emotions and express their displeasure without resorting to violence and contradicting the teachings of their religion.

But as long as the incorrect analysis of the issue as a battle between freedom of expression and Islam remains, there is little hope that the vicious cycle of publications and protests, and more protests and more publications, will end.

The writer can be reached at editor@eat-halal.com

CBC Radio interview

2005-11-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

November 14, 2005:
Islam is the fastest growing religion in Quebec.
Many Montreal Muslims have been closely following the rioting in France.
Daybreak's Melissa Kent talked to some young Muslims to find out what they think of the situation.

(runs: 5:06)

Pakistan Earthquake: "It's times like these which reinstate the fear of God into our hearts"

2005-10-08T03:18:00.000-07:00

As the violent earthquake grips the country and reports of loss of life increasing as every minute ticks by, my relatives in Abbttobad consider themselves lucky. In the early hours of morning, they saw books being discarded from their bookshelves, crockery hitting the floor, family pictures developing cracks, much like all of the walls of their house, one even collapsing, the roof of the servant quarter caving in and the water-tank suffering the same fate. Thankfully no one was hurt, but they refuse to go inside to even answer the phone as the aftershocks prevail. It is probably 'the closest thing to death' as one of them puts it. It's time like these a person feels so impotent and helpless, it's times like these which reinstate the fear of God into our hearts. They tell me two mighty plazas were reduced to rubble and a school building also collapsed, and a few paces away from their house a Local Hospital witnesses harrowing scenes as people are being treated in the parking lots, a place where my grandfather used to take me to walk the dog when I was ten. They say the Holy Month of Ramzan brings in peace and blessing, I guess it is a symbol of God's wrath that this Ramzan, He brought about this horrific earthquake. Maybe we are not worthy of His blessings.

- Shmyla Khan, Lahore, Pakistan

BBC

Spell checker out of sync

2005-09-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

The blogger.com spell checker doesn't recognize the word "blogs." It suggests "blocs" instead.

Go figure.

The wrong TV at the wrong time

2005-09-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

Passengers saw landing drama unfold on TV

Thursday, September 22, 2005; Posted: 9:38 a.m. EDT (13:38 GMT)

Flames shoot off the front landing gear as the aircraft lands on the runway.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The airliner circled Southern California for hours, crippled by a faulty landing gear, while inside its cabin 140 passengers watched their own life-and-death drama unfolding on live television.

While satellite TV sets aboard JetBlue Flight 292 were tuned to news broadcasts, some passengers cried. Others tried to telephone relatives and one woman sent a text message to her mother in Florida attempting to comfort her in the event she died.

"It was very weird. It would've been so much calmer without" the televisions, Pia Varma of Los Angeles said after the plane skidded to a safe landing Wednesday evening in a stream of sparks and burning tires. No one was hurt.

Varma, 23, and other passengers said the plane's monitors carried live DirectTV broadcasts on the plane's problems until just a few minutes before landing at Los Angeles International Airport.

The landing gear trouble -- the front wheels were stuck in a sideways position -- was discovered almost immediately after the plane departed Bob Hope Airport in Burbank at 3:17 p.m., en route to New York City.

The Airbus A320 circled the Long Beach Airport, about 30 miles south of Burbank, before being cleared to land at Los Angeles. It stayed in flight for three hours to burn off fuel, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Donn Walker.

Zachary Mastoon of New York said it was "surreal" to watch his plane's fate being discussed on live TV while it was in the air. At one point, he said, he tried to call his family, but his cell phone call wouldn't go through.

"I wanted to call my dad to tell him I'm alive so far," the 27-year-old musician said.

The pilot finally brought the plane down, back wheels first. As he slowly lowered the nose gear, the stuck wheels erupted in smoke and flames, which quickly burned out.

"At the end it was the worst because you didn't know if it was going to work, if we would catch fire. It was very scary. Grown men were crying," said Diane Hamilton, 32, a television graphics specialist.

As the plane was about to touch the ground, Hamilton said crew members ordered people to assume a crash position, putting their heads between their knees.

"They would yell, "Brace! Brace! Brace!"' she said. "I thought this would be it."

Lisa Schiff, 34, of Los Angeles sent a text message to her mother in Miami that said: "I love you. Don't worry about me. If something happens, know that I am watching you and Daddy and (her brother) David."

Emergency crews from across the area met the plane on the runway. Spectators gathered on buildings and stood on parked cars to see firsthand as passengers walked down a stairway onto the tarmac with their carry-on luggage.

Some passengers shook hands with emergency workers and waved to cameras. One firefighter carrying a boy across the tarmac put his helmet on the child's head.

"We all cheered, I was bawling, I cried so much," said Christine Lund, 25, who was traveling with her cat.

She and the other passengers were taken by bus from the tarmac to the airport's international terminal.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who spoke with the pilot, identified him as Scott Burke and praised him for the calm he showed during the flight.

"He joked that he was sorry he put the plane down 6 inches off the center line," Villaraigosa said.

Ann Decrozals, an Airbus spokeswoman at the aircraft manufacturer's headquarters in France, said the A320 was designed to be able to land with front wheel problems.

JetBlue spokeswoman Jenny Dervin said the airline was investigating the incident with the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board. She declined to identify the pilot and first officer.

About 57 of the passengers were placed on another flight, which arrived at New York's Kennedy Airport at 6:05 a.m. EDT Thursday, said airline spokeswoman Sharon Jones. Others were put up in Los Angeles area hotels and given reservations for Thursday flights. Still others simply returned home.

Among the latter group was Varma, who was greeted by her parents at the terminal.

"It started out just being a ghastly birthday, but now it's just fabulous, " said her father, Anil, who turned 51 on Wednesday.

JetBlue, based in New York, is a five-year-old low-fare airline with 286 flights a day and destinations in 13 states and the Caribbean. It operates a fleet of 81 A320s.

Eat with your family - it's good for you

2005-09-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

Family Meals Help Teens Stay on Track
Eating Together as a Family Boosts Adolescents' Health and Well-Being

By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News

Aug. 2, 2004 -- Families that eat together may foster happier and healthier children.

A new study shows that family meals may enhance the health and well-being of teens and adolescents.

Researchers found that the more often families ate together, the less likely teens used cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana. In addition, a higher frequency of family meals was associated with fewer depressive symptoms, higher grade-point averages, and fewer suicide attempts among middle school and high school students.

"We found family mealtime to be a potentially protective factor in the lives of adolescents," write researcher Marla Eisenberg, ScD, MPH, of the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, and colleagues. "These associations held even after controlling for family connectedness, suggesting that eating meals as a family has benefits for young people above and beyond their general sense of connection to family members."

Family Meals Help Teens Deal

In the study, which appears in the August issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, researchers analyzed data collected from a survey of 4,750 middle school and high school students in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area during the 1998-1999 school years.

The students were asked about how often they ate with their families as well as how often they used drugs or alcohol, felt depressed, had suicidal thoughts or attempts, and how well they were doing in school.

The study showed that about one-fourth of the students said they ate seven or more meals together with their family in the past week. Nearly a third said they had family meals only once or twice a week or never.

Researchers found the frequency of family meals was inversely associated with tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use; and low grade-point average, depressive symptoms, and suicide involvement. So the more times a teen reported sitting and eating with their family the less likely they were to report substance abuse, mood disorders, or poor academic performance.

Girls Benefit More Than Boys

Researchers also found that the protective effects of family meals persisted after controlling for the parents' marital status and family connectedness, although the effects appeared to be stronger overall in girls than in boys.

For boys, the protective effect of family meals on the likelihood of using cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana was slightly reduced after controlling for these factors but remained significant. For example, boys who ate more than seven family meals per week were half as likely to smoke cigarettes than those who ate no family meals.

For girls, all of the beneficial effects of family meals remained significant after accounting for family connectedness except for self-esteem.

In addition, researchers found family meals had a particularly powerful effect in reducing suicide risk among girls. Girls who ate more than seven family meals per week were almost half as likely to report a suicide attempt compared with girls who reported no family meals.

"Girls may be particularly sensitive to the nuances of family interactions, and the frequency of family meals may therefore be more important to their behavioral and emotional health," write the researchers.

How Family Meals Help

Researchers say family meals may work in a variety of ways to help protect teens from negative influences.

For example, family meals may:

Provide a formal or informal "check-in" time for parents to tune into their children's emotional well-being.
Reflect a greater proportion of supervised time and reduce opportunities to engage in risky behaviors without a parent present.
Be a marker for spending more time at home and away from negative peer influences.

Researchers say the findings show that eating family meals may enhance the health and emotional well-being of adolescents. They say changes in policy, such as requiring after-school activities to end by 6 p.m. and social norms to allow parents to leave work on time, should be encouraged to let parents and children to be home together in the evenings and facilitate regular family meals.

SOURCE: Eisenberg, M. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, August 2004; vol 158: 792-796.

WebMD

10 Ways Teens Benefit From Family Dinners
Better Grades, Fewer Drug Problems, Less Stress Noted in Survey

By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News

Sept. 16, 2005 -- Eating dinner as a family can help kids long after the meal is over, a new study shows.

The report comes from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA). It's based on national phone survey of 1,000 teens and 829 parents of teens.

Teens who had frequent family dinners fared better than those that rarely ate with their families, the survey shows.

10 Benefits of Family Dinners

The survey notes 10 positive trends for teens who eat dinner often with their families:

Less likely to smoke cigarettes
Less likely to drink alcohol
Less likely to try marijuana
Less likely to have friends who use illicit drugs
Less likely to have friends who abuse prescription drugs
More likely to get mostly A's and B's at school
More likely to say they would confide in one or both parents about a serious problem
More likely to report that their parents are very proud of them
More likely to report lower levels of stress and tension at home
More likely to talk to their families during dinner and have the TV off during the meal

Those findings come from comparing teens who have five or more family dinners per week with those who have three or fewer weekly family dinners.

Weight, Nutrition Perks

Family dinners have also been linked to healthier eating and fewer weight problemsfewer weight problems, as Harvard Medical School's Elsie Taveras, MD, PhD, told WebMD in May.

Taveras' study on family dinners appeared in May's issue of Obesity Research.

Younger kids who usually ate dinner with their families were less likely to be overweight than children who had fewer family dinners, Taveras found. But the advantage disappeared in the teen years, when teens often skipped family dinners.

There is a need to find ways to get older teens back to the family dinner table, Taveras' team noted. The new CASA survey supports that idea.

Putting Family Engagement on the Menu

Family dinners get a five-star review from CASA Chairman and President Joseph Califano Jr.

"One of the simplest and most effective ways for parents to be engaged in their teens' lives is by having frequent family dinners," Califano says.

He notes that while children from any family can have substance abuse issues, "one factor that does more to reduce teens' substance abuse risk than almost any other is parental engagement."

Finding the Time

Both teens and parents polled by CASA expressed a desire for more family dinners.

"These findings indicate that families face barriers -- other than lack of willingness -- to gathering around the dinner table," the report says. "These barriers may include late work hours, after-school activities, and long commutes."

Since family dinners are so important, families should work to identify and overcome those obstacles, CASA suggests.

CASA's survey was sponsored by TV Land and Nick at Nite's Family Table.

WebMD

Fireman, literally

2005-09-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

Man's static jacket sparks alert

An Australian man built up so much static electricity in his clothes as he walked that he burned carpets, melted plastic and sparked a mass evacuation.

Frank Clewer, of the western Victorian city of Warrnambool, was wearing a synthetic nylon jacket and a woollen shirt when he went for a job interview.

As he walked into the building, the carpet ignited from the 40,000 volts of static electricity that had built up.

"It sounded almost like a firecracker or something like that," he said.

"Within about five minutes, the carpet started to erupt," he told Australian radio.

Considerable current

Perplexed firemen evacuated the building and cut its electricity supply, thinking the burns could have been caused by a power surge.

"There were several scorch marks in the carpet, and we could hear a cracking noise - a bit like a whip - both inside and outside the building," said fire official Henry Barton.

Mr Clewer said that after leaving the building, he scorched a piece of plastic in his car.

His clothes were measured by firemen as carrying a current of 40,000 volts, the Reuters news agency quoted Mr Barton as saying.

The fire official added that the charge was close to being high enough to cause the items to spontaneously combust.

"I've been firefighting for over 35 years and I've never come across anything like this," he said.

BBC

The lake that was...

2005-05-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

Lake vanishes overnight in Russia
Last Updated Sat, 21 May 2005 22:00:08 EDT
CBC News

MOSCOW - Villagers in central Russia are mystified by the sudden disappearance, overnight, of the town's lake.

Russia's NTV channel showed a muddy basin where the lake once was, in the village of Bolotnikovo, 250 kilometres east of Moscow. The name of the village translates roughly as "boggy."

Local officials say the lake was probably sucked into an underground cave system.

NTV interviewed local fishermen who had gone to the lake early Friday morning only to discover that something had "pulled the plug" on the lake.

"I looked and there was no water. I thought: 'Oh my God, what's going on?'" said one of the fishermen on TV.

Emergency crews were called out to search the lake bed to see if anyone had been sucked under. Lakeside trees appeared to have been dragged down with the water.

Safety officials say it's still dangerous to be on the lake bed.

Local official Dmitry Klyuev said several houses had been swallowed up under similar circumstances 70 years ago.

CBC News

Plane scare summed up

2005-05-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

White House, US Capitol emptied in plane scare

From a report filed by CBC Radio's Washington correspondent; aired on the World At Six (note the contrast and irony):

...Friends and family of the two say they simply went off course trying to fly to an air show. Instead, they put on a very different kind of show - one that's being seen around the globe - of the capital of the world's most powerful nation sent into a seeming panic, by a puny plane that may have simply got lost.

Michael Colton, CBC News, Washington

Listen to the end of Michael's report (the irony comes through in his voice)

Pardah makes inroads...in Tokyo

2005-05-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

Tokyo offers women-only rail cars

Last Updated Mon, 09 May 2005 12:05:51 EDT

CBC News

TOKYO - Several railway companies in Tokyo and the city's subway offered women-only cars on Monday, part of the Japanese capital's effort to try to prevent the groping of female passengers.

Nine private railways in Tokyo's metropolitan area and the Tokyo Metropolitan Subway system will offer the women-only cars during the morning rush hour.

Female passengers get off a "women only" car of a subway train at a Tokyo station Monday. (AP photo)

Police monitored the cars to prevent men from sneaking inside.

A Tokyo survey recently showed two-thirds of women aged 20 to 40 said they had been inappropriately touched while riding the subway cars.

The number of reported gropings and sexual assaults on Japanese trains was 2,201 in 2004, the highest on record.

CBC News

Blind man often ''sees'' more than those with perfect vision

2005-05-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

Blind lawyer makes his case

You adapt, he says. Crown prosecutor downplays disability

SUE MONTGOMERY
The Gazette

The trial of Richard Graveline, a hardened criminal with a penchant for abusing women, is about to resume.

Quebec Court Judge Jean-Pierre Lortie begins to speak when suddenly the crown prosecutor stands. All eyes in the room turn toward him. In a soft voice, he respectfully interrupts the judge: "The accused is not yet here, your honour."

For a second, the judge, clerk and defence lawyer seem taken aback, staring at Harry Pierre-Etienne, whose expression is hidden behind dark sunglasses. Slowly, his mouth breaks into a "don't-underestimate-me" mischievous smirk.

The prisoner's box is indeed empty, but the bemused judge is quick to make light of the uncomfortable moment.

"I was just testing to see if you were trying to fool us," he said, looking down at the man in black robes with a guide dog asleep at his feet.

During the past 30 years of blindness, Pierre-Etienne has fine-tuned his other senses to the point where he often ''sees'' more than those who have perfect vision. Sound - or lack of it - smell, touch and taste have replaced his eyes, ravaged in adolescence by glaucoma.

Those senses helped him leave his native Haiti alone as a teenager, coach his son's sports teams, obtain a black belt in judo, cycle competitively, skate, enjoy movies (he loved Ray) and become Quebec's first blind lawyer, pleading the Crown's cases before judges and juries.

In short, he does everything seeing people do, and more, except drive a car and play tennis.

But he shrugs it off as unexceptional. Human beings have the ability to adapt to anything, he said nonchalantly.

Read complete article

Don't despair...

2005-05-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

A down-on-her-luck Hamilton woman has learned how quickly fortunes can change, the Hamilton Spectator reports.

Seeking some cash, she tried to sell her CD collection at a used record shop this past weekend, but was rebuffed, and became so upset she started yelling and crying. That drew the attention of police, who, along with a psychiatric nurse, took the distraught woman to a Tim Hortons to discuss her options.

The 30-year-old woman rolled up the rim of her coffee cup and won a doughnut. Const. Gary David told her that since she was on a roll, she might as well roll up the rim on his cup.

She did and won a $1,000 cash prize..

The woman offered to split the prize, but David and the nurse declined, saying it “made their day” to see her win.

There's plenty of work to do from home

2005-04-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

ARMAND GAUDET
Freelance

April 23, 2005

Question: I left a great full-time job because I needed more flexibility. I have three young children and need to be with them, but I need an income. Where can I find work that can be done at home?

Answer: There are certainly a number of ways a stay-at-home parent can earn additional income through a home-based business. I'd encourage you to start to think about your areas of interest and, from there, determine what might work best for you and your family.

Do you like to sell?

There are a vast array of products that are sold through home-based distribution networks. It's possible to become an independent sales representative for any number of products, from cosmetics, fashions and home decor to kitchen equipment and cleaning products.

One product that one of my colleagues came across while raising a young family was Discovery Toys. It is a Canadian-based toy manufacturer and distributor with all kinds of unique toys not readily available on the open market. Although I can't recommend a specific company, you may want to start your research here.

Do you enjoy working with children?

Many stay-at-home parents open private day cares. While there is a significant investment required to become a licenced day-care facility, there is still opportunity to operate privately. Home-based tutoring may be another option you might consider.

Do you enjoy being of service to others?

While most of us lead hectic lives, there is an increased demand for a variety of services to support the home front. Dog walking, doggy day cares, grocery shopping, errand services, children's party planning and meal preparation are just a few. Providing support services to senior citizens also represents a significant growth area.

Do you have office skills that you'd like to use?

The increase in small businesses has created a need for support services. Often, small business owners turn to independent businesses to assist. Everything from maintaining databases, keeping sets of accounting books or word processing might be services you could offer.

I know quite a few stay-at-home moms who choose to find part-time weekend work when their partners are at home to look after the children. This allows them to not only take a break from the 24/7 demands of raising a family, but to do something they truly enjoy. Perhaps it's working at their favourite clothing or giftware store, being a tour guide at an art gallery or museum or working at the local animal shelter.

For a comprehensive listing of home-based business possibilities, check out Fun Careers at www.funcareers.com.

With 30 years of collective experience within the Canadian marketplace, Right has become the leading career transition and organizational consulting firm, with more than 30 locations across the country. Right Management Consultants Montreal can be contacted at (514) 871-4778. Copyright 2005 Right Management Consultants.

If you have a question for our Working experts, go to our Web site: working.com

Natural Reaction or Over-Reaction?

2005-04-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Man wins $340,000 in bottled fly lawsuit


Chris Thompson
Windsor Star

Saturday, April 23, 2005

A Windsor hairstylist who suffered "recognizable psychological injury" after discovering a dead fly in a bottle of Culligan water has been awarded more than $340,000 in damages.

Waddah (Martin) Mustapha, who operates two outlets of Martin's Coiffure and Spa at the Radisson Hotel and Casino Windsor, claimed "nervous shock, emotional distress and resulting anxiety, depression and physical and psychological conditions" arising from a breach of contract with Culligan.

"It's long overdue," Mustapha said of the settlement.

On Nov. 21, 2001 Mustapha and his wife Lynn, who was seven months pregnant, were preparing a new bottle of Culligan water to put in their dispenser when she saw something dark in the bottle. Both looked closely and saw legs and wings and realized it was a dead fly.

Lynn Mustapha vomited immediately and Martin vomited later in the evening.

Justice John Brockenshire heard that after discovering the fly Mustapha "could not get the fly in the bottle out of his mind."

Mustapha told court he would have nightmares about falling into a ditch face down in water and he could not sleep more than four hours a night.

LOST SENSE OF HUMOUR

He also testified that he lost his sense of humour and became argumentative and edgy.

Mustapha did not see a doctor until January 2002 and told the doctor that his salon clients were "asking what was wrong with him and whether he was OK."

The doctor prescribed anti-depressants to help him relax and sleep.

He was also prescribed stool softeners for constipation which Mustapha attributed to the fact that he used to drink eight glasses of water a day and now drank none.

Since the incident, Mustapha said he was unable to get the image of the fly out of his mind, and often pictured flies walking on animal feces or rotten food and then being in his bottled water.

Prior to the fly incident Mustapha would shower daily, singing while doing so.

Afterward Mustapha would stand in the bathroom contemplating whether to shower or not and would often just get dressed and leave or wipe a cloth under his arms before applying deodorant.

Following therapy Mustapha was able to stick his head under the water so it would not touch his face and later had therapy where he would stand in the dry shower in a bathing suit.

After the incident Mustapha began drinking coffee made with only warm milk and instant coffee but after therapy was able to drink coffee made in the traditional manner.

Mustapha was unable to resume drinking water by itself.

Mustapha's lawyer Pat Ducharme said the case is unique in Canada.

"I found precedence that had to do with people who consumed elements but never a case where someone had seen something in a bottle and developed a severe depression," said Ducharme.

He said the case was successful because of the number of doctors who examined Mustapha.

SEVERE DEPRESSION

"All of them came to the same conclusion that he was suffering from a severe depression because of seeing the fly in the bottle," said Ducharme.

Another contributing factor was that a psychiatrist hired by Culligan examined Mustapha for 10 minutes and deemed his claims bogus, Ducharme said, an assertion that Brockenshire rejected.

Culligan's water distributed in Windsor comes from a plant in Woodstock.

The company testified that it has extensive filtering and purification systems but that flies could enter the so-called "clean room" and enter a bottle before or during its filling.

"I am prepared to accept that the odds against this happening are very high," Brockenshire wrote in his decision.

"However, it should not have happened at all."

Culligan operates water purification companies in more than 90 countries.

The company has 30 days to appeal the decision.

After the incident Mustapha's business at the Radisson, where he spent the majority of his time, suffered greatly.

Mustapha was awarded $80,000 in general damages, past and future special damages of $24,174.58 and past and future economic damages of $237,600.

© The Windsor Star 2005

Ziad's note: Perhaps I should have encouraged my friends at madrasa to sue as well after finding this:




Yes, that is a dead fly in an unopened pouch of milk...
 (October 10, 2003)

Action on the Nikah front

2005-04-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

Sikander Ziad Hashmi, sunniforum.com

(http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5100)

Marriage proposal.

For some of us, the first thing that came to mind was a ring. For others, it was an aunty on the phone, listing off the virtues of a potential candidate. Perhaps we thought of the ladoos we ate a few days ago when our best friend got engaged. Or maybe our mind raced to family discussions about the proposal our side is just about to fire off.

How about a proposal without any of the above? A proposal minus the aunties, the discussions, the ladoos, the ring, or any warning for that matter - a point-blank proposal?

Talk about being caught off-guard.

Apparently, that’s what’s been happening as of late – to some sisters in my neck of the woods.

Here’s how it goes, typically: A sister is riding in a subway car or is walking down a street. She stands out with her hijab. A brother spots her. He walks up. “Wanna marry me?” he asks. She rolls her eyes and either looks away or takes off, if she can.

The brother is left standing, ever frustrated that his attempts at avoiding fitnah are leading nowhere.

The sister, perhaps afraid, is left wondering what brothers are being taught at those Halaqas. Too much fiqh of nikah, maybe?

When I first heard about this, I wasn’t sure how to react. I was shocked, simply because it’s not something we’re used to hearing about. But should I be angry at the brothers for firing off proposals in subway cars and on the streets? Should I be sympathetic? At least they’re trying to avoid fitnah. Should I be sad that our community has no mechanism of accommodating brothers (and sisters) who want to (and perhaps need to) get married?

According to sources, the brothers are relatively new and thus don’t have the support network to find a spouse in their new town.

One sister with a niqab was reportedly approached outside a masjid. The nikah attempt failed when the sister informed the brother that she was old enough to be his mother. I’m assuming she was already married.

OK, so let’s get this straight. The brothers are single. They want to marry. There are sisters. They are single.

So what’s wrong then?

A few things.

For starters, maybe when discussing the fiqh of nikah, it should be made clear (as it was to me when I was studying, thanks to my teacher) that just because some rules exist, it doesn’t mean they’re the wisest or the preferred method of doing things.

So, when we study that all is required for nikah is eejab (proposal) and qubool (acceptance) in the presence of two adult, Muslim males or one male and two females, it doesn’t mean that we actually start trying to do the thing at street corners and alleyways.

There are etiquettes and not following the etiquettes can lead to problems.

Nikah is not a tool for making ‘Halal flings’. It’s a serious business that’s supposed to be about a serious, long-term relationship.

When a man proposes, he proposes to a potential life-time partner and the potential mother of his children.

What if a sister accepts, without her knowing anything about the brother nor the brother knowing anything about the sister? Would they be actually willing to make a lifelong commitment? If no, then what happens if the sister happens to get pregnant?

It is very natural to want to get married, especially with the fitnah in today’s society. Even back then, the Prophet encouraged young people to get married:

“O Company of young men! Any of you who can afford to should marry. It restrains the eye and protects the private parts. Anyone who is unable to should fast. It restrains the appetite.” (Bukhari)

But proposing in subway cars and on the street is not the way to do it. Whenever possible, one should network through one’s family and friends, or if that’s not possible, through an elder (an Imam, perhaps) or through a close friend.

If it means going back to one’s home city or country to get married, then be it.

Still fruitless and can’t seem to solve the problem? Tough it out and curb the desires in following the Prophet’s advice by fasting and by cutting the food-supply to one’s desires (i.e. stay away from areas of fitnah, try lowering the gaze, and occupy the mind with thoughts about other things).

Secondly, we need to reevaluate our stance on marriage at a societal level. Have we made marriage simply prohibitive for those without the cash to pay for things we have made to be the ‘necessities’ of a marriage ceremony and for those without degrees-in-demand? Do we consider those who are new to our communities to be ‘aliens’ and thus leave them to wander the streets and propose? Have we, who claim to be reviving the Sunnah of the Prophet and who seem to be allergic to our ethnic cultures, suddenly become (gasp!) class-conscious?

Lastly, do we have a mechanism in the community for helping brothers and sisters get married? If one has no one to turn to, how is he or she supposed to find a spouse without proposing randomly? Do we need support groups for single brothers and sisters?

These stories leave me saddened more than anything. I admire the brothers for going out of their way to avoid Haram, yet I feel sorry for them, especially the brother who asked the niqabi sister without even seeing her face. At the same time, I think I’m a bit disappointed that they chose an avenue which leaves the sisters feeling harassed and probably unsafe.

What does this teach us?

It teaches us that there is a real need for education, guidance and support. It can be tough being a single Muslim in today’s society and even more so when you’re away from home and are lonely in a new city. We need to get together, offer support to each other, discuss our issues, share experiences and help each other find spouses, the Halal way.

I believe there should be somewhere to go for help and support when things just don’t work out, as well as for pre-nikah prep, so we all know what to expect when we start phase II of our lives.

I strongly encourage everyone, myself included, to think about this seriously and get something going, online at the very least.

I think each city with a decent Muslim population should have two local chapters of a support group, one for brothers and one for sisters, led by an Imam and an experienced, knowledgeable sister.

The time has come for Muslim Singles Anonymous.

Wardrobe Function: Councillors in Canada's largest city argue over....shirts

2005-04-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

April 13, 2005: The Toronto Star

BRUCE DEMARA
CITY HALL BUREAU

Toronto politicians can wear anything they want, including buttons, ribbons and T-shirts — even if they express opinion or bias on an issue — city council has decided. A formal complaint was filed last October against Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti for wearing a T-shirt during a committee meeting that supported a bridge to the Toronto City Centre Airport, a highly contentious issue.

....

But in a 27-7 vote, councillors ended debate on the matter once and for all.

"As a member of this council, I put my biases before the electorate and they determine whether they're going to support them or not," said Councillor Howard Moscoe.

"If a member of council wants to wear a TTC logo on his lapel or a `I hate somebody' sweater on their back or carry a picket sign and make a fool of themselves, it's their right to make a fool of themselves absolutely," said Moscoe (Ward 15, Eglinton-Lawrence).

Councillor Pam McConnell (Ward 28, Toronto Centre-Rosedale), chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, said she is contemplating a T-shirt saying, "Question Authority, But Not Your Mother."

Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West) noted he once took off his shirt in the council chamber to protest a decision to let a portion of Hanlan's Point beach go clothing-optional, adding that it garnered media attention.

"It was my right to take off my shirt and it was my right to put on the (offending) shirt," Mammoliti said.

"I just want to say I'm pleased Councillor Mammoliti hasn't taken his shirt off in the time that I've been here," said Councillor Janet Davis (Ward 31, Beaches-East York).

CBC Fresh Voice update

2005-04-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

The CBC has uploaded yours truly's Fresh Voice clip onto its server.

Sikander Hashimi
Concordia University
"Islamic boarding Schools"
Listen to this clip (16:32)

Yes, I admit I sounded super-scripted...well, it was scripted, but it wasn't supposed to sound like it. And yes, I did say Shelagh's name a few times too many. But it was my first time and I guess that's how one learns.

A new winner has been added on the Fresh Voice web site and some may find her video piece to be interesting.

Ayeesha Bhatty
University of British Columbia
"Quran"
Watch this clip (4:28)

(The CBC seems to have a thing for misspelling names. My last name is Hashmi, not Hashimi, and from what I understand, it's Ayesha and not Ayeesha)

Looking for the 'perfect' spouse?

2005-04-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

Don't find the right mate - be the right mate

"All couples have about 10 irreconcilable issues. ... Switch partners and there are 10 new issues."


SUSAN SCHWARTZ
The Gazette

Monday, April 04, 2005

Couples in long marriages intrigue me. I find myself wondering how much of what brought them together helps them to stay together. I wonder sometimes how many of these lasting unions are driven by inertia - a cynical view, I know. But I wonder more what seems to inoculate some marriages against divorce - and not others.

Jane Brody, author of a long-running personal health column in the New York Times, once observed that asking long-married couples why their marriages have endured is like asking 10 blind people to describe an elephant: Answers vary widely.

In some way, though, they almost always reflect a mutual commitment and concern, love and respect. If too many couples believe the secret of a happy marriage lies in finding the right mate - and then, when trouble comes, they assume it's because they chose badly so they bolt - the ones in lasting marriages seem to have learned the secret is in being the right mate. It's in weathering tough times, in being flexible, in learning to accept the shortcomings of the other.

"It's the overriding commitment to the commitment," says Robyn Parker, an Australian researcher and author of a 2002 report called Why Marriages Last.

All couples have about 10 irreconcilable issues with each other, says Diane Sollee, a Washington, D.C.-based marriage and family therapist. Switch partners and there are 10 new issues. It's not differences that distinguish successful marriages, but how people handle them. Disagreement and fighting aren't predictors of divorce, she says: Contempt, criticism and the silent treatment, though, are.

Francine Klagsbrun, author of Married People: Staying Together in the Age of Divorce, observed how the one thing people learn well in marriages is to hurt the other - how, always, at the height of an argument, one has one's finger on the weak spots of the other. "In lasting marriages," she wrote, "even in moments of sheer hatred, an alarm sounds and you hold back from saying the very thing the other most dreads hearing."

Sollee, founder and director of the Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education (www.smartmarriages.com), believes love is not an absolute but a feeling that ebbs and flows, depending on how people treat each other. She says satisfaction in a marriage often drops with the birth of a baby, that it's at its lowest when kids are between 11 and 16 and that it rises with the emptying of the nest.

It's the final stage of marriage - the last third - that's the real honeymoon period, she says.

And a new Canadian study bears this out. Older people generally rate the quality of their relationship as high, according to a report in the current issue of the StatsCan publication Canadian Social Trends. And the older they are, the more likely men and women are to feel positive about their relationship.

Anne Milan, an analyst with Canadian Social Trends, and Lee Chalmers, an associate professor at the University of New Brunswick, used data from the Statistics Canada General Social Surveys of 2001 and 1995 to examine the perceptions of 6,500 respondents age 50 to 74 concerning their relationship in retirement or in the time leading up to it. The scale used to measure relationship quality combined nine indicators, from frequency of laughing together to frequency of arguments about chores.

All things being equal, couples reported being happier together when both were retired than when they were in the labour force or one was retired.

One wrinkle, though: Couples who had adult children at home rated the quality of their marriage lower than those who didn't. And the more children at home, the lower the quality.

As the authors observe, an increasingly unstable job market for young people in this country has meant more couples approaching retirement or already retired are facing the challenges of a nest re-filled with children - boomerang children, behavioural scientists call them - they thought they'd launched.

That's not to say parents can't live happily with their adult children, say Chalmers and Milan. But there is research to show that when the reason kids are back home is rooted in a problem like unemployment and accompanied by economic dependency, it's more likely to interfere with their parents' marriage.

You don't, after all, want kids on your honeymoon, do you?

Despite everything, we're still relatively 'sharif' (alhamdulillah)...

2005-04-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

"Indian and Pakistani women reported an average of one lifetime partner compared with white women who reported an average of five lifetime partners, four reported by black Caribbean women, and three by black African women.

Indian and Pakistani people were the last to lose their virginity and also had substantially lower prevalence of STIs.

.....

White women reported having more sexual partners than black women and black African men reported having an average of nine sexual partners, compared with white men who had six. Indian men reported having two lovers and Pakistani men had only one in their lifetimes.

White women have an average of five sexual partners, black Caribbean women have four, black African women have three and Indian and Pakistani women each had only one sexual partner."

British Desis, Least Promiscuous

Some things are just not meant to be...

2005-04-01T07:43:00.000-08:00

Lottery winner dies before cashing cheque (CBC)

Which one do you choose?

2005-03-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

Sikander Ziad Hashmi, sunniforum.com

( http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4348 )

Over the past few weeks, we’ve heard about a variety of happenings in the news: a 5 year-old child dropped onto a highway from an overpass by her father (who then jumped to his death), a beauty contest in the works, and a woman leading ‘mixed-gender’ prayers.

All involve Muslims.

Some have brought sadness and shock; others have spurred debates, not to mention raising the ire of many around the globe.

But what’s really leading us Muslims to these things?

I thought hard about it and figured it comes to a combination of things. But one really stands out: Do we see Islam as merely something we believe in or does it go further? Is Islam for us simply a faith or is it a way of life?

If we understand Islam as being the former, then all of the above mentioned actions are understandable, because the profession of faith then is just that – a mere profession - and nothing more. In that case, we have full liberty to do things the way we see fit and do what we feel whenever we feel like it, without having to worry about what Islam teaches us - explicitly or implicitly - and what the correct approach may be to the array of situations we may be faced with. It’s our problem and it’s only up to us to decide how we’re going to go about it.

Fine. It’s also called following the desires.

Allah Almighty told Dawood (AS):

“…follow not your desire for it will mislead you from the Path of Allah. Verily! Those who wander astray from the Path of Allah (shall) have a severe torment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning.” (Quran; 38:26)

Our desires inherently like to follow Shaitan and try to make us do the same.

“O you who believe! Follow not Shaitan's footsteps: if any will follow the footsteps of Shaitan, he will (but) command what is shameful and wrong: and were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, not one of you would ever have been pure: but Allah doth purify whom He pleases: and Allah is One Who hears and knows (all things).” (Quran; 24:27)

On the other hand, if we understand Islam to be the latter (i.e. way of life), then we have the Quran, the noble words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad preserved in the thousands of ahadith, the actions of his Companions, and the lives of countless scholars and saints to learn from and to look towards for guidance, not to mention the over 1400 years of rich history and scholarly sayings. And of course, we have the scholars who can link their knowledge back to the Prophet .

The fact that Islam is a way of life is evident from the fact that the Quran was actually revealed on the Prophet (as opposed to being sent down directly to the masses), who was sent to explain the Quran in a practical way and about whom we are told that he is for us a role-model.

“Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.” (Quran; 33:21)

As well, we are instructed to not only follow the commandments of Allah, but to follow those of the Prophet as well.

“O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the apostle, and make not vain your deeds!” (Quran; 47:33)

And his words weren’t simply his own sayings.

“Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is only an Inspiration that is inspired.” (Quran; 53:3-4)

Allah instructed the Prophet Muhammad to tell the people:

“Say: "If you do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Quran; 3:31)

Hence it becomes clear the Islam is made up of the commandments of Allah and the Prophet , as well as his actions, which are all for us to follow.

As human beings, we are all free to make our choices. And the choices are clear: We can opt to take Islam as merely a faith and do whatever we desire (including putting our own spin on the Quran and Islamic injunctions, following non-Islamic ideals, etc.), or we can take the profession of faith as a covenant where we promise to do our utmost to follow the commandments of Allah and His Messenger as they are meant to be followed.

The choice is clearly ours.

And the outcome resulting from our choice is just as clear.

Death, politics, students' strike and....

2005-03-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

Judges flip flop on whether a husband can get his wish to remove the feeding tube connected to his wife who's been in a vegetative state since the last 15 years, so she could starve to death and get out of her 'misery'.

The Conservative Party of Canada is holding its convention in Montreal.

Meanwhile, thousands of university and CEGEP students continue to strike in Quebec.

In the midst of all this, what greasy substance is in the headlines?

Margarine.

For its colour.

(Yeah, go figure - only in Quebec)

Keep the lid on yellow margarine: Supreme Court

Quebecers will continue to eat white margarine after the Supreme Court rejected Unilever's argument it should be allowed to sell yellow margarine in the province.
FULL STORY

(CBC Montreal)

For all those intrigued by the yellow vs. white margarine debate, the CBC has a special in-depth section on the issue.

MARGARINE'S TWO SOLITUDES