Native Deen love

I just went on a run half fueled by frustrations and the other half consisted of the bowl of nutella + bananas I ate for iftar. It took me a good four miles to feel satisfied as well as all of the Native Deen & Outlandish albums I own. This took me back to my senior year of high school where I listened to nothing other than these two bands every single day. I am currently writing Native Deen a thank you letter for making their music, because honestly, I didn't realize how much their lyrics shaped my thoughts and actions. Sometimes you just need to hear someone else's experience match up with situations you come across to stimulate your own perseverance. And usually...Gossip Girl and 30 Rock don't teach very good decision-making tactics. It was especially the track "I Only Fear My Lord Allah" that I remember repeating incessantly especially during rough drives home from school around the time I turned down my at-that-time crush because I didn't wanna hit up Prom with him.

"Has there ever been a time when it was time to pray, And you were with a group of people at that time of day,
Maybe with a group a buddies who know nothing bout Salat, Or yet a teacher or a boss, someone you do respect a lot.
And you wished to take a moment, but you knew not what to say,
Your afraid that they will look back in that funny type of way.
...You stay and do not pray because you fear what they will say,
You forget Allah is greater than a person made of clay.
Lord of all the heavens and lord of all the sky,
And you go and fear a creature that is someday gonna die.
I think we underestimate, who controls our very fate,
We say that hes our lord, but we forget that he is very great.

These lines are what always stayed in the back of my head when I started praying at the library or in the Macy's fitting room. Soo if you haven't already, check out some Native Deen and Outlandish tracks + add them to your workout mixes :)

check out other Muslim Hip Hop here: http://www.muslimhiphop.com/

The Only Thing Constant In The World...Is Change.

Okay, I'm in super India Arie mode (she is SO legit), hence there are a lot of allusions to her lyrics in this post. The question at hand is one that transverses all generations: Will a woman ever be more than what she wears? It seems that we are constantly focused on a woman's outer appearance and fail to recognize deeper, more important aspects of situations. For example, during the earthquakes in Pakistan, I read an article on the front page of a newspaper saying that this tragedy befell on Pakistan because the women were wearing sleeveless clothes. Ummmm okay...what?! Wouldn't you think that there are more important things that deserve to be the focal point during this stage? Anyways, I think that it is very important for us to focus on our inner workings before we start agonizing over our outward showings.

If we try to change ourselves on the inside first, the rest will follow. “Verily, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves” (al-Qur’an, 13:11) Seriously, I remember at one point in my life I was on a super religious high (alhamdulillah) and as my iman got stronger on the inside, it became apparent on the outside. I began to find pleasure in dressing and acting modestly...and I don't quite have the words to describe what an amazing time that was for me, but basically, Allah (swt) is ready to help us out, we just need to take that first step.

“I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly even better than that. And if he takes one step towards me, I take ten steps towards him. And if he comes walking to Me , I go running towards him. ” (Hadith Qudsi)

This being my first year in college, I'm beginning to realize certain things. First off, this is a LITERAL fresh page; I can be whoever I want to be here without the awkward "what?! that's so unlike you" situation. What an excellent chance to be a better person, a better Muslim. Like what India Arie says in "I Choose:"

my past doesn't dictate who i am.
every day we're making a decision.
on what to do and who to be.
it's constantly changing.

Due to this constant changing, one cannot let labels turn into self-fulfilling prophecies. We cannot get stuck on one thing we've done and let it prescribe the rest of our lives for us.

"Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death." - Anais Nin

To ensure that we're changing for the better, sometimes it's helpful to tell myself: "Hey, every facet of your life should be all or nothing." So if I'm trying to be Islamic in certain aspects, but not in others...then why bother? That's like studying really hard for a test but then not reading any of the questions when the actual test comes around and just blindly guessing. Of course, we will never be PERFECT - but that's the point right? The struggle? So Allah can be like "Hey man, you tried hard" and i'A grant us His mercy and entrance into Heaven, because I sure know I wouldn't get in only based on my deeds.

So yeah, that was a bit all over the place, but essentially just a reminder to not let other people's perspectives of you (outer appearance) create who you are as a person. Keep striving to better yourself, holla!

"Life isn't about finding yourself, its about creating who you are." - George Bernard Shaw





Does the way I wear my hair make me a better person?

Does the way I wear my hair make me a better friend?

Does the way I wear my hair determine my integrity?



Peace.

Not Your Erotic, Not Your Exotic - Suheir Hammad

Another powerful Muslim sister! Suheir Hammad is a Palestinian-American poet, activist, and author
she's AMAZING.
I love her casual-yet-oh-so-powerful style.



"Exotic" - Suheir Hammad

Don't wanna be your exotic
Like some delicate fragile colorful
bird imprisoned caged in a
land foregin to the stretch of her wings

Don't wanna be your exotic
women everywhere look just
like me some taller darker
nicer than me but like me
Just the same women everywhere
carry my nose on their faces
my name on their spirits

Don't seduce yourself with my
otherness
the beat of my lashes
against each other ain't some
dark desert beat it's just
a blink get over it

Don't build around me
your fetish fantasy your
lustful profanity to
cage me in clip my wings

Don't wanna be your exotic
your loving of my beauty ain't
more than funky fornication
plain pink perversion in
fact nasty necrophilia
because my beauty is dead
to you
I am dead to you

Not your harem girl
geisha doll banana picker
pom pom girl poom poom short
coffee maker town whore
belly dancer private dancer
la malinche venus hottentot
laundry girl your immaculate
vessel emasculating princess
don't wanna be
not your erotic not your exotic


My favorite line is "it's just a blink - get over it" huzzah! She's discussing the sexual exploitation of women of color. The concept of "orientalism" is very strong in this poem too, and if you don't know what that is, then I suggest you do some reading. I could attempt to explain on here, but it's quite lengthy and I, myself don't have a strong grasp on it. It's along the lines of how the West views everyone from the East as "the other" or "them" as inferiors... this is where being "exotic" and all that steps in. Definitely is a heavy subject - but as Muslim-Americans, we are going to come across orientalist comments many times in our lifetimes, so it's best to be knowledgeable about it!

Salaam

Awesome Muslimah Rap Goup - Poetic Pilgrimage

I came across a Muslimah rap group called Poetic Pilgrimage today, and wow they're powerful. plus they have cute English accents. Their lyrics are inspirational - and we could always do with more of those! I'll leave the deeets to the article below:

Sukina Douglas and Muneera Williams are Muslim artists with an edge. Long-time friends from England, the two have worked together for five years uniting Hip Hop and poetry. Their art has led to the creation of the group Poetic Pilgrimage. It allows them to speak out honestly and passionately about life: life as Muslims, life as black women, life in general. Their intention is to represent the under-represented. “I think hip hop in general has a negative light,” says Sukina. “We stick to the fact that hip hop didn’t start like that - it’s about providing a voice for the voiceless. It’s representing injustice. There’s a common term that hip hop is black people’s CNN. That’s how we see it.”

Since the inception of Poetic Pilgrimage, Sukina and Muneera have seen many changes in their lives, and their work has been a constant reflection of this. One of the most significant was their conversion to Islam in 2005. “Although we embraced Islam, we had many preconceptions about Islam and performing as women,” says Muneera, explaining they were not sure if they’d ever rap again. “We wanted to make sure we were doing it (rapping) for the right reasons.” Through the encouragement of other Muslim artists, they decided to continue their journey as hip hop artists, incorporating Allah into their work.

Their decision to continue rapping as Muslim women was empowering for many, however some older generations were not as accepting. “It’s like these two girls come in and are mixing Hijab with hip hop” says Sukina. “Islam and hip hop – does it work?” Although frustrating at times, Muneera says she’s learned to handle the criticism. “I used to get fired up about it, but now I just try to put it aside. I just think it’s frustrating because the people we’re trying to represent are shutting us down. It can be disheartening.”

Despite some controversy, Muneera and Sukina say the majority of their work is well-received, and not just by the Muslim community. They once got an email from a gay Christian man, explaining how their work has inspired him. “We were like ‘what’? That’s not really who we have in mind when we’re writing our rhymes, but I think when you put something out and you create it, it doesn’t belong to you anymore. It belongs to the world.”

As for the future of Poetic Pilgrimage, the women say they’ll continue fine-tuning their craft to represent people of all backgrounds who don’t have a voice. “Art has the ability to transcend any barriers: culture, religion, it doesn’t matter what the differences are. Art is art, music is music. If you like it, you like it, if you don’t you don’t" (from pearlsoftheworld.ca)

Here's a preview (this one's not on their myspace) :



check out more of their stuff on their myspace
and if you like it, support them by buying their upcoming EP Freedom Times
and tell your friends, of course!

salaam

A Muslim Heroine - The Adventures of Iman

omg this is adorableee! I present to you, the first Muslim girl superhero: Iman.



Iman is a teenage super hero - her super powers? the Qur'an and Hadith. Her main quote is "Islam means peace. Not war" She quotes the Qur'an through out her adventures to help people deal with their problems.

Ahh! What a good role model to girls - shows that they can be smart, beautiful, and athletic as well as still be good muslims. The little girls that I know these days brush off the fact that they're Muslim -they hear so much negativity about it as its constantly being misrepresented in the global media, that they aren't proud to be Muslims - they're more concerned with Hannah Montana, Abercrombie, and Bratz (who by the way spend all day at the mall.. uh atleast Barbie had occupations and aspirations?)

In an interview, Khoreibi said "I especially wanted girls to feel that their religion gives them equality even if their cultures don't"

"Girls have to know that the Qur'an favors them as much as it favors boys. It gives them the chance to be all they can be within an Islamic Framework. They don't have to think I've got to be a different culture or a different religion to be all I can be. You can actually grow up to be an amazing woman-- career-wise, a mom, a very productive person in society-- and be proud of that and still be a Muslim."





huzzah!