Page 1 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 22 Issue 22 Vol. XXII, No. 27 in this issue Letters to the Editor.......................... 2 Islamic World News.......................... 3 Women in Islam. ................................. 6 The Miracles of Zamzam..................... 7 The Fastest Growing Religion in the US. 8 Dawah - Our Obligation................... 10 Wisdom in Islam. ............................... 11 Stories of the Sahabas........................ 12 Events Foretold in the Quran. ........... 14 Math in the Quran............................ 16 Letter From Mecca. ........................... 16 Why I Embraced Islam........................ 17 Eating Together................................. 19 Fasting. ............................................ 19 Islamic Science................................... 20 Sand and Stone................................. 21 Cook’s Corner.................................. 21 Kid’s Corner. .................................... 23 Mother............................................. 23 Imagine When ‘You’ Die!!!. ................ 23 Eid Stamps and Poster........................ 23 The Islamic Bulletin Published by the Islamic Community of Northern California A Non-Profit Corporation P.O. Box 410186 San Francisco, CA 94141-0186 E-Mail: info@islamicbulletin.org Website: http://www.islamicbulletin.org ASSALAMU ALAIKUM! Ramadan is one of the most important events in Islam. It is also one of the most anticipated and exciting holidays of the year. Just like any other large holiday, excitement starts to build weeks before the month actually begins! It officially begins when the first silver crescent of the calendar 9th month’s moon is spotted in the night sky. What if we made a resolution to Allah that this Ramadan is the beginning of the new me? As others make their resolutions for New Year, Ramadan would be a starting point as a new resolution for Muslims. During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and smoking during daylight hours. Fasting in this way allows Muslims and their families’ time to revitalize many of the teachings of the Qur’an in their lives. By fasting, Muslims have an opportunity to focus on many lessons that make up the very tenets of their religion; some of the most important lessons are self-control, inner reflection and the importance of charity. Muslims often make a special effort to donate money, food, and goods to charities or people in their community during the month of Ramadan. Just as fasting is an opportunity to learn the lessons of Qur’an, so is the daily ritual of breaking the fast. Suhoor (breakfast) and Iftar (evening meal) are times to bask in the importance of community and family, and to experience thankfulness for the good things that are in their lives. During Ramadan, the morning and evening meals are treasured because they offer the chance for family and friends to eat and celebrate together. People meet at the Mosque or in each other’s homes and appreciate the unity of Islam. Of all the deeds we keep ourselves busy with, it is only fasting which Allah considers purely for Himself. This means that fasting is a gift from you to Allah! When you give a gift to someone you love, you make it as special as you can ... even choosing the best wrapping paper. What about giving a gift to Allah! Try to make each day you fast as special as you can. How? Pray on time, give a charity each day, DON’T COMPLAIN, fill your day with deeds that you know Allah loves. And stay away from the things you know He hates such as backbiting, gossiping, lying, etc. Instead let us reflect people who are actually starving without a meal at the end of the day. People need to understand that we are brothers one of another in our faith. There is only one God no matter what. No matter how you relate to Him, Our God is your God. Make your “wrapping paper” taqwa (God-Consciences) and fast a day that you can be proud of. Remind yourself that you are not just fasting to get to maghrib and eat, your are not just fasting because everyone else is, you are not fasting to lose weight. You are fasting for ALLAH. (And be sure Allah knows exactly why you are fasting). This is your time to give Him something back for all He gave you. You give such nice gifts to your friends. But He is Allah. Why not give Him the best gift that you can? We would like to ask each of our readers to remember us in your Duhas. May Allah strengthen our remembrance in Him, and help us strive to become better Muslims, Ameen.
Page 2 Issue 22 Page 3 The Islamic Bulletin Dear Neighbors: I amwriting to you because I do not know the address of the Mosque I pass on my way to the Farmer’s Market on Alemany Boulevard, nor how to write to the people who shop at the market with me. I hope you will pass my letter on. I want to tell you how valuable it is to me that we share this community. I’m so glad to live somewhere that everyday reminds me that my small way of life may be different from my neighbor’s and, thatwe can still live together peacefully and fruitfully. I especially love my Saturday morning trips to the Farmer’s Market. I cross Mission Street and pass the Mosque, often just as people are standing outside talking. It reminds me that the sun is up, or rising and it reminds me to thank God for my day. The market is a microcosm of how the world could be: everyone being themselves, rejoicing in shopping with others who are very different from them. We share recipes and explore new flavors. I have learned from a Muslim woman in a shawl how to use the mysterious leaves I see everyone buying and from a Chinese woman with big strong hands how to prepare lemon grass. I’ve shown an Afghan man in a wool hat how to prepare and eat an artichoke. I know that you have been attacked, sent hate mail and suffered threatening telephone calls. I hope this letter of friendship and thanksgiving that you are my neighbors will in some small way help to heal the wounds that should not have been inflicted upon you. In God’s love, Martha Stookey, San Francisco, CA Dear Editor: My husband and I are originally fromDetroit, Michigan and converted to Islam sometime ago. I had been reading and following your newsletter while I was living in the US. To learn more about this beautiful religion, we moved to Makkah, Saudi Arabia. My family always looks forward to every issue of your newsletter. I wanted to share this letter with other readers about my mother-in-law. We used todiscuss the religion of Islamwithmy husband’s family.When my oldest daughter was a little over a year old she had pneumonia and was eventually hospitalized. My mother-in-law came to stay with us and help. During that time she asked us about salat (prayer) and even hadme showher how tomakewudhu (ablution). Shewas very close to becoming Muslim, but felt that she would be betraying God, to whom she had always turned, by joining another religion.We explained to her that it was the SAMEGODand that Islamwas His religion. She hesitated and then returned home when all was well with our family. Years passed and we continued to discuss things with her. She was the most open of his family; his father, the least open. About 15 years ago his father died. We still talked to her but she was hesitant and then finall , one day after a frustrating argument about the prophets, peace be upon them, I told my husband that I didn’t think that she Letters To The Editor wouldever becomeMuslim.MayAllah forgiveme. I read a hadith (sayings of theProphet PBUH) a long timeago (don’t askme for the source) that said words to the effect that you should never say that the people are finished My mother-in-law (she was 70 years old then) came to visit us from the States. We took an apartment in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia which was located near a masjid and stayed there for a month. When she first heard the adhan, she said that she had heard it in her sleep years ago - she lived in the midst of Detroit where, at that time, there were no mosques in the area where she lived. When we went to the souq (market) and she saw how the shops all closed for salat, she said, “This is truly a people who think about God.” Unbeknownst to us, she was asking our children how to make wudhu, how to pray, and about various beliefs. Subhaanallah, they never told us anything! At the end of a month, she came to us and told us she wanted to become Muslim. It was a shock, a pleasant shock! We went down to the court; she declared the shahaadah and the next day we packed up and headed for home - Makkah. We made Umrah with her and performed made many salats in Makkah, at the Haram. She was really cute on Umrah. We had completed 2 saie (rounds) and she turned to me and said, “Well, that’s not so bad.” I smiled and told her that we had 5 more to go. We proceeded slowly, stopping and sitting on the side once or twice. When it was completed, she said she was glad that it was encouraged to do at least once in a Muslim’s life. I laughed. At one gathering, we were sitting on the side and I was trying to tell her that she was of an age where she didn’t have to wear hijab. I was trying to put it in a nice way that once a woman reached an age where she no longer was of marriageable age, she did not have to wear it. Before I could get the words all the way out, she cut me a look that let me know that SHE didn’t consider herself in that category, so I just dropped it. We taught her salat and I made diagrams for her with transliterations of the words with the meanings. Unfortunately, all of this coincided with the war. Her daughter and sons in the States kept calling and telling her to get out of Saudi Arabia because there was going to be a war. We sent her home reluctantly. I wanted to workmore with her on her salat. It was really sad to see her go. She was a tall, proud looking womanwho got on that planewearing hijab and a beige abaya (cloak). We kept in constant touch. About 9months later she excitedly called to tell us that she had memorized Suratul Fatiha (Opening Chapter), and was trying to keep her fast for Ramadan. Due to the fact that she had hypertension and had special medication to take at certain times during the day, she was extremely saddened that she was unable to keep her fast. That following Hajj, my husband performed Hajj on her behalf. During the summer when school let out, we were headed back to Detroit-- tickets in hand and all. My husband’s sister called and gave us the devastating news that my mother-in-law had died. I was so stunned and saddened that we would not see her again that the telephone slipped out of my hand. We rushed home to lead her Janazah (funeral). His sister arranged that her grave be in a separate plot in the cemetery FACING MAKKAH. We did not even ask her to do that. SubhanAllah, I always thank Allah that there was not a lot of disagreement involving the funeral and washing the body, etc., as can happen when one person is Muslim and the rest of the family is not. Many people came to the funeral and as a result asked my husband many questions about Islam. I constantly pray for Allah’s mercy and forgiveness for the woman who gave birth to the man I married, who became Muslim with me on the same day as I did, who fathered my 6 children and remains with me in Makkah to this day. She was the best possible mother-in-law. She was my sister and mother in Islam. I pray for her and my daughters after every single salat. May Allah grant her Paradise and may we be able to join her on that DAY of days. O Allah, grant us the good of this life, the good of the next life and protect us from the Fire. O Allah, let our last days be the best days of our life and our last deeds be the best of our deeds, and let the best day be the day we meet You. Umm Rafiq, Makka Need to contact us? Web Address: www.islamicbulletin.org E-Mail: info@islamicbulletin.org Editor, Islamic Bulletin P.O. Box 410186 San Francisco, CA 94141-0186, USA Searchlighting Islam By Yusuf Islam (Formerly Cat Stevens) Sadly for all of us, the world seems to have lost its balance and is now reeling out of control. A violent group cold-bloodedly murdered innocent civilians, hijacked a religion and a large army is out for justice - but more innocent lives will get destroyed. It seems to me that someone like myself, having seen life from both sides-East and West-is rightly placed to comment and confront certain myths and try to reduce the demonization of a religion, which is still appallingly misrepresented. In an old song of mine which today uncannily seems to sound like a metaphor for September 11, “Tuesday’s Dead.” I wrote, “I’m like him, just like you, I can’t tell you what to do, like everybody else I’m searching through what I’ve heard.” Like other Westerners, I was wary of approaching Islam when I converted 23 years ago. I found that my songs were asking questions,” Islam said. “But I was averse to religious dogma ... I wanted a more spiritual way of finding what’s right and wrong.” During this personal search, I wrote well-known songs, such as “Peace Train.” I never said where the train was going. I didn’t know. The train was a symbol, rolling on the edge of darkness,” Islam said. In my search for answers, I turned to Buddhism, Eastern mysticism and even Pythagoras of my own Greek heritage. However, it was not my own search, but my brother David Gordon’s travels that led me to the Islamic religion. After returning from a trip to Jerusalem, David bought me a copy of an English translation of the Qur’an as a present. I discovered something different from the negative images portrayed. As well as belief in the one God of this universe, it was quite a revelation to find that the word Islam itself came from Salam or “Peace.” A notion light years away from the violence and destruction we have all seen in recent weeks. Scanning through the pages of the Qur’an back in the late 1970s, it amazed me how close Islam was to my religious upbringing as a child. Prayer and charity, paradise and angels were mentioned; the Gospels and Torah of Jesus and Moses respectively were referred to. Soon, the Quran was carrying me beyond home and customary landscapes, to a new religious shore inhabited by people I was always told to be suspicious of-Arabs and Muslims. But surprisingly, the Quran was full of stories and instruction from the history of mankind as a whole. It did not speak in favor of one special race against others. It said although we may be from different countries and tribes, we were all human born of the same original parents, Adam and Eve. The Quran directly says: “The best of people are the most God-conscious.” In 1977 I was listening, and quietly decided to embrace Islam. Since then, I am still surprised how little people know about a religion of over one billion fellow humans. After the nightmare of September 11 and what followed, it’s vital that people get to understand more about Muslim beliefs. This is why I feel it is necessary to write and shine a searchlight on Islam’s hidden reality. Most newcomers to a faith go through an initially zealous phase-call it “born again” -followed by a period of measure and maturity. Muhammad Ali, the boxer, is good example of that learning curve. I was no different. All I wanted was to be as far away from showbiz lights as possible. So suddenly it was blackout. I stopped drinking but still continued in the studio to make records. Naturally, what the public didn’t see was my spiritual growth, subtly softening the ragged edges of my character. The media likes big paintbrushes and, as usual, bypassed such details. I announced the end of my career as Cat Stevens and sold all my instruments, giving the proceeds to charity. Having assumed my new name-Yusuf (as in the story of Joseph, son of Jacob) Islam-I grew my beard slightly longer and donned long white clothes-an image which instead of representing a spiritual disciple, to untrained westerners’ eyes, now looks shockingly similar to their idea of public enemy No. 1. Drinking, partying, celebrity girlfriends-turning my back on such a life-style was newsworthy for a time, but it wasn’t really gossipy enough to continue writing about. But at that time it was impossible for me to explain, so I shunned interviews and flashbulbs. The small number of fish-lens photos and garbled headlines that did come out, for many, were nothing but a confirmation that the Wild World I’d sang about had gone a bit wilder. But beyond the well-known “O Baby, Baby it’s a Wild World,” chorus line, only a few recognized how uncannily some songs had double-tracked my future. The song, “The Boy with a Moon and Star on His Head”, almost paints the whole story. Peace Train, Changes IV, Morning Has Broken--the list goes on and on. In one explicit lyric, “On The Road To Find Out,” I actually mention picking up a “good book”! For years after entering Islam I was too busy raising a family and establishing schools for little Muslim children to stop and explain. I didn’t realize how vital communication with the public was. At that time most of the media didn’t seem very interested in my new life anyway-they were waiting for another sensational headline. That ungraciously came with the publication of the “Satanic Verses.” Lamentably, what most people missed in that whole chapter was in the small print.
Page 4 Page 5 The Islamic Bulletin Still a relatively new Muslim, but being a well-known personality, I was invited to join a letter campaign requesting the publishers of the controversial novel to think again. I did, but they ignored the plea. Suddenly the media tried linking me to supporting Iran’s Fatwa on Salman Rushdie. The fact is that I never did support the Fatwa. Such is the irony. You wouldn’t ask a Christian to deny one of the Ten Commandments; equally, as a new Muslim, I couldn’t deny that the Quran, just like Leviticus in the Bible, forbade blasphemy and if there is no repentance, made it a capital offence. But what most people-including many Muslims-fail to recognize, is that the Quran repeatedly calls on believers to repent, to uphold the rule of civility and not to take the law in their own hands. Clerics and extremists who call for the assassination of civilians outside the recognized bounds of the Islamic State without due process are wholly out of line with the limits and spirit of Islam. The Koran states, “And do not let your hatred of some people… cause you to transgress (the law).” My songs of love and harmony and I were now associated with death edicts and even the Ayatollah! That was a time of great emotion and uproar. I released a statement clarifying my position, but the press preferred to ignore it-perhaps for them it didn’t go far enough. At that time, I was still learning, ill prepared and lacking in knowledge and confid nce to speak out specifi ally against forms of extremism. I wish to avoid making that same mistake again. Today, I am aghast at the horror of recent events and feel it a duty to speak out. Not only did terrorists hijack planes and destroy life last September, but also they hijacked the beautiful religion of Islam and split the brother and sisterhood of mankind. The targeting of unsuspecting civilians going about their daily work was energized by nothing but blind irreligious hatred. Yet we should remember, this kind of atrocity has been a common occurrence, year upon year, in many lands. My memory of the prolonged suffering and death of two hundred thousand people in Bosnia at the end of last century is something that I cannot easily forget. However, it is also good to hear spiritual and political leaders across all countries and cultural divides making it clear that such acts of murder as were witnessed in the U.S. have nothing to do with the universal beliefs of Muslims; it’s also important that retaliation does not become a representation of Christian wrath.The Koran states: “Repel evil with what is better and he, between whom and you was hatred, will become as a warm bosom-friend.” So out of the shadows of death, positive signs are arising, human beings are beginning to feel each other’s pain. Tragedies can sometimes help breakdown the barriers of prejudice. In Chicago, three days after the attack, non-Muslim neighbors-Christian and other denominations-held hands in a circle to form a human chain around a Mosque in which Muslims were praying. That chain, in the form of humanitarian aid, should stretch to those innocent and blameless people of Afghanistan and all fellow human beings like them who are still starving on the knife-edge of life and death. If humanity can be revived through honor and deeds of compassion and charity, it is hoped that the tragedies of the past will herald a new tomorrow and a new sunrise of moral understanding for people all over the world. Our future is still glimmering brightly in the searchlight of children’s eyes. I belonged to that idealistic movement which grew up in the Sixties and Seventies with undiminished dreams and hopes for a more peaceful world. There are multitudes of people around the world who don’t want more wars and destruction. And I am still one of those. Conflicts on earth seem endless, like day follows night. Life goes on and, regrettably, wars and terrorism are still very much with us. But nothing should stop us “dreaming about the world as one.” Let’s hope those words of my song “Peace Train” will one day be fulfilled Actor Will Smith Embraces Islam Muslim leaders across America acknowledgeing Will Smith for embracing Islam religion after completing the Muhammad Ali biopic. Smith was introduced to Islam while learning about the legendary boxer’s life. Friends close to Smith claim the megastar is now embracing the religion in his own life and is eager to learn more about it. Director of the American Muslim Association of North America, Sofian Zakkout says, “Muhammad Ali is one of the best examples of Muslims in this country. He’s been a wonderful spokesperson for the religion and if Will Smith can continue Muhammad Ali’s work that would be wonderful.” He continues, “Islam is a peaceful religion and if good people such as Muhammad and Will can carry that message then it would be wonderful. It would be a positive message for peaceful Muslims all over the world.” Smith appeared at the America: A Tribute To Heroes telethon in September alongside Ali, defending Islam in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Many In Hawaii Turning To Islam By Mary Kaye Ritz -- Advertiser Religion Writer Less than three weeks after terrorists struck New York City and Washington, Heather Ramaha stood among a group of women at the mosque in Manoa and recited the shahada in Arabic: “Ash-hadu alla illaha illa Allah. Wa-ash-hadu anna Mohamadan rassulu Allah.” She was testifying that “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah (one true God), and Mohammed is a prophet of God.” By doing so, she became a convert to the Islamic faith, extending a recent national trend. Some Muslim clerics across the country say they are seeing a fourfold increase in conversions since Sept. 11, when stories about Islam jumped from the back pages of the religion section to front pages worldwide. HakimOuansafi, the president of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, said that prior to Sept. 11, there had been an average of three converts per month. In the two months since then, there have been 23. And oddly enough for a religion that is often perceived as one that cloaks its women from head to foot, the newly converted Westerners tend to be female. Ouansafi said the national ratio of converts is 4-to-1, women to men. Here, he said, it’s closer to 2-to-1. Most Mainland converts are African-Americans, who make up about a third of U.S. Muslims, some of whom found Allah while they were in jail or in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction. On the West Coast, the men are mainly military, said Ouansafi and most of the O’ahu converts are former Christians. More people are looking into Islam and liking what they see, he says, despite the relentless media coverage of Muslim terrorists. “ Know you find bad people in every religion, and that religion should not be judged by that extreme minority,” he said. One thing Sept. 11 didwas remind people that life is too short: “If I’m going to die, I want to die a Muslim,” a convert told Ouansafi Cromwell Crawford, chairman of the religion department at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, echoed that: The effect of Sept. 11 on thenational psychemade all Americans awareof the transience of life. He described themood of the country as changing: Singles seek to bond; family members hang together more tightly; and, by extension, the nation’s people reach out to one another. “People are turning to religion both in the institutional sense and in non-institutional ways,” Crawford said, adding that the fallout also is benefiting other religions besides Islam Why Overwhelmingly Women? “In the expression of this mood, women are moved more readily and more deeply than men,” he said. “Go to any church and you’ll fi d more women than men.” He also fi ds the female students in his classes often show greater insight into ethical issues. “Women are the more religious of the genders for various reasons,” Crawford said. “... Women give birth and so they are in touch with the life process, caretakers of the life cycle by virtue of their biology.” Converting - or “reverting,” as Muslims call it since they believe everyone starts life as a Muslim - does not take much besides a sincere belief there is one God, and only one God. “We believe, as Muslims, once a person reverts to Muslim, all his past sins are forgiven by God,” Ouansafi said. “Starts just like a baby that was born.” The conversion ceremony itself is fairly simple, he said. A convert tells of the converting of his or her own free will; then explains the five tenets of faith. For the ceremony, two witnesses watch as a convert agrees that Jesus was among the great prophets (Ibrahim/Abraham, Mohammed and Moses are among the others), but not God, then speak the same two sentences that Heather Ramaha recited. Now, Ramaha is incorporating her Islamic faith into her life as a Navy petty offi er stationed at Pearl Harbor since July. She doesn’t wear her hejab to work as a dental hygienist, but she does wear her head covering when attending services at themosque.While her husband, a Marine, was away recently, she couldn’t quite recite the five daily prayers, all said in Arabic, without his elp. But Ouansafi said the Islamic faith is supposed to be practiced to the best of one’s abilities. It’s forbidden in the Quran, for example, for pregnant women, travelers, and people with diabetes to fast at Ramadan, if fasting means harming oneself. On a recent Friday - the Islamic equivalent of the weekly Sabbath - Ouansafi spoke at the prayer services about the role of women in Islam, and talked at length in an interview at his office with his wife, Michele Ouansafi, herself a convert, about what draws women to a faith some have called oppressive. Women are revered in their faith, the Ouansafis said. The wearing of the hejab is for a women’s own protection - they are away from the lascivious looks of men. The women pray in different rooms and behind the men so as not to be a distraction when worshippers kneel andplace their foreheads to the fl or. “Women are in back because we are the stronger of the two,” saidMichele Ouansafi with a laugh And all the major texts of religions - the Bible, the Torah, the Gospels - “in the Quran, women have more rights,” her husband said. He noted that in the Quran (“the word of God, descended directly on the prophet through Gabriel,” said Ouansafi), Eve and Adam were equally at fault for leaving the Garden of Eden. Eve wasn’t the seductress. Many of the passages in the Quran are gender-neutral. And, in Islam, Ouansafi said, the money a man makes goes for the family. The money a woman makes is hers, he said. Women are not obligated to work. Michele Ouansafi converted after meeting her husband-to-be whenhe tutoredher inRhode Island in1986, but she saidhenever asked her to convert. “Ours is a faith of attraction, not promotion,” said the French Canadian woman with an MBA who works at Earth Tech, an environmental firm, as a contracts administrato . For those women who see their place in the home, the Islamic faith can be very attractive, said Tamara Albertini, a UH philosophy professor who specializes in Islam and grew up in an Islamic country. The man is responsible for taking care of the earnings, and the woman rules the home. Although Ramaha’s husband, Mike, is a lifelong Muslim and a Palestinian who grew up in San Francisco, he was not the reason for her conversion, she said. “Mike never once tried to get me to convert,” the 24-year-old ‘Aiea resident said. “He said, ‘If you want to do this, you can research it yourself, but I’ll love you either way.’” Ramaha has been searching for a way to explain her new faith to her family in California. She notes that most of their information about Islam comes from the TV movie, “Not Without My Daughter,” a story about an American woman, an abusive Iranian husband and a subsequent fight over their child. “I haven’t been able to find a way to tell them without them flipping out,” she said. “I haven’t told Dad. I tell him I go to the mosque, but I haven’t told him I converted yet.” To people who ask her why she would choose a religion that some consider oppressive to women, she responds that they’re mixing religion with culture. “Growing up in the U.S., Islamic faith doesn’t have the culture mixed into it,” she said. Ramaha was the first in her family to join a church. At age 5, she befriended the daughter of a non-denominational pastor and became a Christian. The rest of the family joined later. Her mother is still a churchgoer. But Ramaha said she struggled with the Christian view of the Holy Trinity. In March, she took an online world religions class through a California university. “I’d been a Christian for 18 years,” she said. “There are so many loopholes in that religion. (Islam) opened up so many ideas. ...I felt that in my heart this was the right (one) for me.” As a follow-up, she took an introductory class on Islam in Hawaii. After Sept. 11, she started reading the Quran, and “something clicked.” She converted soon after. “I’ve always felt drawn to something out there, (otherwise, there’s) an emptiness,” she said. “The only way I feel complete is when I have a religion, a God to pray to.”
Page 6 Page 7 The Islamic Bulletin The story of Ibrahim (AS) is well known to Jews and Christians as well as to Muslims. In Islam he is remembered as one of the great Prophets, and as the father of the Prophet Isma’il (AS), who was the ancestor of Mohammed (SAW) himself. Centuries ago, Hagar searched desperately for water in the hills of Safa and Marwa to give to her newly born son Ismail (AS). As she ran from one place to another in search of water, her child rubbed his feet against the sand. A pool of water surfaced, and by the grace of God, shaped itself into a well which came to be called Zamzam water. Let me go back to how it all started. In 1971, an Egyptian doctor wrote to the European Press, a letter saying that Zamzam water was not fit for drinking purposes. I immediately thought that this was just a form of prejudice against the Muslims and that since his statement was based on the assumption that since the Ka’aba was a shallow place (below sea level) and located in the center of the city of Makkah, all the wastewater of the city collecting through the drains fell into the well holding the water. Fortunately, the news came to King Faisal’s ears who got extremely angry and decided to disprove the Egyptian doctor’s provocative statement. He immediately ordered the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources to investigate and send samples of Zamzam water to European laboratories for testing the potability of the water. The ministry then instructed the Jeddah Power and Desalination Plants to carry out this task. It was here that I was employed as a desalting engineer (chemical engineer to produce drinking water from sea water) and was chosen to carry out this assignment. At this stage, I remember that I had no idea what the well holding the water looked like. I went to Makkah and reported to the authorities at the Ka’aba explaining the purpose of my visit. They assigned a man to give me whatever help was required. When we reached the well, it was hard for me to believe that a pool of water, more like a small pond, about 18 by 14 feet, was the well that supplied millions of gallons of water every year to pilgrims ever since it came into existence at the time of Prophet Ibrahim (AS), many, many centuries ago. I started my investigations and took the dimensions of the well. I asked the man to show me the depth of the well. First he took a shower and descended into the water. Then he straightened his body. I saw that the water level came up to just above his shoulders. His height was around 5 feet, 8 inches. He then started moving from one corner to the other in the well (standing all the while since he was not allowed to dip his head into the water) in search of any inlet or pipeline inside the well to see from where the water came in. However, the man reported that he could not find any inlet or pipeline inside the well. I thought of another idea. The water could be withdrawn rapidly with the help of a big transfer pump which was installed at the well for the Zamzam water storage tanks. In this way, the water level would drop enabling us to locate the point of entry of the water. Surprisingly, nothing was observed during the pumping period, but I knew that this was the only method by which you could find the entrance of the water to the well. So I decided to repeat the process. But this time I instructed the man to stand still at one place and carefully observe any unusual thing happening inside the well. After a while, he suddenly raised his hands and shouted, “Alhamdulillah! I have found it. The sand is dancing beneath my feet as the water oozes out of the bed of the well.” Then he moved around the well during the pumping period and noticed the same phenomenon everywhere in the well. Actually the flow of water into the well through the bed was equal at every point, thus keeping the level of the water steady. After I finished my observations I took the samples of the water for European laboratories to test. Before I left the Ka’aba, I asked the authorities about the other wells around Makkah. I was told that these wells were mostly dry. When I reached my office in Jeddah I reported my findings to my boss who listened with great interest but made a very irrational comment that the Zamzam well could be internally connected to the Red Sea. How was it possible when Makkah is about 50 miles away from the sea and the wells located before the city usually remains dry? The results of the samples tested by the European labs and the one we analyzed in our lab were found to be almost identical. The difference between Zamzam water and other water (city water) was in the quantity of calcium and magnesium salts. The content of these was slightly higher in Zamzam water. This may be why Zamzam water refreshes tired pilgrims, but more significantly, the water contains fluorides that have an effective germicidal action. Moreover, the remarks of the European labs showed that the water was fit for drinking. Hence the statement made by the Egyptian doctor was proved false. In a way, it was a blessing that this study was undertaken to show the chemical composition of the water. In fact, the more you explore, the more wonders surface and you find yourself believing implicitly in the miracles of Zamzam water that God bestowed as a gift on the faithful coming from far and wide to the desert land for pilgrimage. Let me sum up some of the features of Zamzam water. This well has never dried up. On the contrary it has always fulfilled the demand for water. It has always maintained the same salt composition and taste ever since it came into existence. Its potability has always been universally recognized as pilgrims from all over the world visit Ka’aba every year for Hajj and Umrah, but have never complained about it. Instead, they have always enjoyed the water that refreshes them. Zamzam water’s appeal has always been universal. This water has never been chemically treated or chlorinated as is the case with water pumped into the cities. Biological growth and vegetation usually takes place in most wells. This makes the water unpalatable owing to the growth of algae causing taste and odor problems. But in the case of the Zamzam water well there wasn’t any sign of biological growth. Are you ready to meet the woman who can get by without her looks? It is late in the afternoon at the University of British Columbia and I have been cooped up in this library for hours, trying to compose a thesis for my American Literature term paper. Deciding that a break would help clear my thoughts, I leave the confines of the library to sit outside, only to hear a female voice come up from behind me to ask: “Just how is it that you can live with yourself from day to day wearing that THINGon your head and letting THEMcontrol your life?”Granted, it is an original line, a creative way to break the ice, yet why the code words? Only because I’ve been yelled at in public before for reasons connected to my appearance do I know what this woman means. Code word #1: “head thing”= 30inch X 30inch yellow and maroon flower patterned polyester blend, a piece of cloth I happen to be wearing to cover my head and neck. Code word #2: “them”= all Muslim men who, sinister-like with their dark beards, heavy accents, and hidden Uzi’s get a rush out of making women their life-long slaves. Having deciphered all this quickly, I turn to face the stranger- a cross looking thing. I smile politely and signal to the empty chair beside me: “Would you like to have a seat?” HIJAB, the head to ankle covering that leaves only the face, hands, and feet visible in public, has made me a very patient Muslim woman. The brave individuals who have mustered the courage to verbally express their opinions about my scarf haven’t been the most trying. There are many who can’t formulate words coherent enough to communicate their disapproval, and so, rely on simple gestures and sign language. Walking through downtown Vancouver, Canada, I’ve been fingered, spat on, scowled, and cursed at. Stepping into an elevator, I once traumatized a man who could do nothing but shuffle into the corner of the empty lift and mutter “What the --? WHAT THE --?!?!?!?!” I have to take the agitation, the horror, and even the hatred in a stride. But never will I be silent about it. I can ignore the flagrant distortions no more than I can deny the fact that I am a Muslim living in Canada. Who I am and what popular culture thinks I am, has become a tug-of-war-competition of who can explain the status of theMuslimhijab-wearer convincingly. Themedia tells the public that I am a weak freak of nature who has been forced to subject herself to the tyranny of Muslim fundamentalists. Catherine Meckes assesses that wearing hijab is “some kind of twisted logic” because it entraps women like animals in a cage. The Muslim dress code, she argues, is a form of hiding from society so that I don’t have to deal with the realities of my “natural habitat.” Ms. Meckes seems to be familiar enough with theWestern culture to know that women are constantly objectified, used as commodities, tools to sell beer and boost sales for the next football season. Sadly enough, though, she views women who wish to distance themselves from this commercial degradation with fear. She finds women who cover “disturbing” and wished that she didn’t have to confront them on their “home turf.” Pardonmy feeble-mindedness, I’ve pinned my scarf on too tight and squeezed reason out of my brain....just WHO is running away from the truth? I have chosen way of ridicule by a society that demands women to conform to certain ideals. I have refused to hide in the crowded university hallways and malls by looking the way Cindy, Cosmo, or Calvin Klein think I should - all because I’m a spineless caged rodent?!?! I have rejected the hip-hugging jeans, the breast-enhancing halter tops, the poofy hair and made-up face, and accepted hijab so that I can be appreciated for my intellect and personality rather than my figure or fashion sense. When I face a classmate or colleague I can be confident that my body is not being scrutinized, my bra-strap or pantyline visible. I have repudiated the perverted values of our society by choosing to assert myself only through my mind. I understand my “natural habitat” very well thank you! I fully comprehend the distorted image of the “ideal woman,” but the difference betweenme and the CatherineMeckes’s of the world is that I am NOT afraid to defy those standards. Islam liberatedme fromTHAT prison. Perhaps hijab is so misunderstood because it is prescribed by a religion that makes a bold and shocking statement: Women are precious creatures who have the right to be valued for who they are, and not what they can juggle. When I decided to start wearing hijab, my mother pulled me aside and posedthisquestion: “If youfoundadiamondthatwasexquisite ineveryway, would you show it to all your friends, let themgawk at its dazzle, caress it, or would you covet the stone andprotect it by preserving its natural splendor?” Once youbear something for all to see, the second youdisplay something for its beauty, you objectify it and diminish its value. Because its worth is built on its ability to attract, when it no longer elicits awe from onlookers it becomes worthless. Is it a wonder that neck lines keep plunging every year? - more cleavagemeans women won’t bore oglers, the commercial industries, and the rest of society for awhile. But when will those skirts quit shortening?? For how long will women remain sex objects?? Islam tells us that every woman is a jewel and when she respects herself enough to preserve her beauty for herself and her loved ones, she rejects being objectified by a society which does NOT value her.Only the dearest people in my life knowme without hijab because they love me enough to value ALL of me. John and Jane Doe don’t love me or care for me, so why must Imeet theirnotionsof an“idealwoman” if theyaremeaningless tome? It is the desire to please popular culture that makes 15 year old girls want to fit into Kate Moss’s jeans by sticking their fingers down their throats and wretching (throwing up) three times a day. It is the unattainable Perfect-Body society has conjured, that make “fat”, “ugly” girls splatter themselves on sidewalks because they just are “not thin and pretty enough”. AND THEY TELL ME ISLAMOPPRESSES WOMEN?? I amthankful that I amnot suicidal or psychologically unbalancedbecause I can’t meet the demands of my culture. I am fortunate that my concerns and goals in life lie on a higher plane than the dictates of a pretty fashion industry. I am quite content with my religion, for it values my power to achieve great things through my mind, not through my body. Whether I am physically beautiful or not, you have no clue. Perhaps this fact is disturbing for Catherine Meckes and the library stranger because they are not ready to meet a woman who can get by without her looks. Then again, perhaps it is because they are just ignorant of the (WHAT IS IT?) facts. Either way, I don’t need anyone’s sympathy, I am not really that scary, and your anger does me no harm. I am not under duress, or a male-worshipping female captive from the barbarous Arabian deserts. I’VE BEEN LIBERATED! “Your LordAllahhas decreed that youworshipnone but Himand that you be kind to parents whether one or both of them attain old age in your life. Say not to them a word of contempt nor repel them but address them in terms of honor and out of kindness lower to them the wing of humility and say - ‘My Lord bestow on both of them Your mercy as they cherished me in my childhood.’” (Quran 17:23-24) The Miracles of Zamzam Women In Islam
Page 8 Page 9 The Islamic Bulletin By Stephen Magagnini A SENSE OF PEACE AND CONNECTEDNESS Todd Wilson, a third-generation Italian American, swore off his beloved prosciutto. Thy Loun, a refugee from Cambodia now attending UC Davis, had to give up her twice-weekly staple of double-pepperoni pizza. Wilson, 31, and Loun, 21, say they’ve sacrificed their favorite foods (both made from pork) for something more fulfilling: their belief in Islam. They are among an increasing number of converts who have made Islam the fastest-growing religion in America. There are now as many as 7 million Muslims in the United States - half of them American-born. In recent years, Americans of African, European, Southeast Asian, Latin American and American Indian descent have left their parents’ spiritual paths to follow Islam, a religion that includes more than 1 billion believers from nearly every country. At 10 p.m. on a recent Thursday, Wilson joined several dozen worshippers of different races and ethnic backgrounds at SALAMMosque inNorth Sacramento for the last of the day’s five prayers. Wilson, who teaches sixth grade in Elk Grove, observes his midday prayer between classes. A one-time Marxist who still has posters of the late revolutionary Che Guevara, Wilson says Islam gives him a sense of peace and connectedness he never found in Catholicism, the religion of his parents. He and other made-in-America Muslims often combine the American values of democracy and gender equality with Islamic ideals, such as devotion to family, charity, modesty (women often cover their heads, arms and legs) and bans on alcohol, pork, smoking and premarital sex. The growth of Islam in America has led to a growing acceptance of the hijab (the head cover worn by many Muslimwomen) and daily Muslim prayers during breaks at schools and workplaces. Sacramento, home to the oldest mosque west of the Mississippi, at 411 V St., now has nine mosques, several Islamic schools and a Muslim cemetery. Community leaders estimate 35,000 Muslims live in the Sacramento area. Wilson, Loun and dozens of others interviewed say they were drawn to Islam because it places emphasis on prayer rather than on place of worship - no idols or icons are found in mosques, which tend to be relatively spare - and because it attracts a diverse group of followers across the economic and ethnic spectrum. While many people associate Muslims with Arabs, most Muslims aren’t Arabs, and millions of Arabs aren’t Muslim. At a Muslim picnic in Sacramento’s Haggin Oaks Park last summer, believers from 20 nations prayed and ate barbecue together. WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN ISLAM Islam, like other religions, is interpreted differently in different cultures. From the time of the prophet Muhammad, who Muslims believe received the word of God (the Qur’an) in the seventh century, Muslim women were allowed to choose their husbands, divorce, own property and do battle - rights afforded few Western women at the time, said Kathleen O’Connor, who teaches Islam and the Qur’an at the University of California, Davis. “This Western notion that Muslim women are all tied up in a closet somewhere, bound and gagged, is utterly ridiculous,” O’Connor said. Only a small minority of Muslims advocate violence in the name of religion, O’Connor said. “They’re just like (U.S.) paramilitary groups - you wouldn’t judge Americans by Oklahoma City.” African Americans account for 30 percent of America’s Muslims, according to O’Connor. She said the figure isn’t surprising given that as many as 20 percent of the Africans brought to the United States as slaves were Muslim. AFRICAN AMERICANS COMING TO ISLAM “African Americans who have converted to Islam believe it represents a return to cultural roots pre-slavery, a culture of self-respect and independence,” O’Connor said. “And Islam is a religion of social justice. This speaks to blacks, whose experience has (often) been marked by injustice. They don’t want to turn the other cheek - they’ve been turning it for 200 years.” Like many African American Muslims, Askia Muhammad Abdulmajeed came to Islam after experimenting with the Nation of Islam, an African American group led by Louis Farrakhan that is not part of orthodox Islam. Abdulmajeed, 56, joined the Nation of Islam under the late Elijah Muhammad in the early 1970s. He said he admired the Nation’s self-help approach to inner-city problems but said he was repulsed by its anti-Semitic, anti-white doctrine. He says Allah saved him from himself: “I was into drugs, I ran with a fast crowd, didn’t hold down a job very long. My perception of women was decidedly chauvinistic.” He ultimately became an Imam, or prayer leader, and now serves as a sort of Muslim circuit preacher who travels from mosque to mosque, explaining the Qur’an in modern American terms. Abdulmajeed, like many AmericanMuslims, is trying to strike a balance between American notions of equality and democracy and much-older Islamic laws that preach absolute adherence to the Qur’an. His wife “can be a CEO as long as she doesn’t walk away from her responsibility as a wife and mother,” he said. “If my wife is uneducated, unsophisticated, what kind of children is she going to raise?” Wilson, Abdulmajeed and other American converts appreciate Islam’s rigorous, direct relationshipwithGod.Muslims areexpected topray, ina kneeling positionwith their foreheads touching the floor, five times a day.Where they pray is immaterial as long as they’re facing Mecca. They also are required to fast during Ramadan - one month out of each year during which Muslims are to abstain from food, water, sex and arguing from sun-up to sundown. LATINO MUSLIMS In April, California State University, Sacramento, hosted a forum on the “Islamic Presence in Latin America” before and after Columbus. One of the speakers, Salvadoran-born AbdulHadi Bazurto (President of Latin American Muslim Unity), said the more he examined his roots, the more he questioned the validity of Catholicism in his life. “Since the day the Spanish arrived, we as people have suffered a Islam is the Fastest Growing Religion in the US lot,” he said. “Christianity’s ‘white God’ concept was harmful to our people, who were definitely not white.” Another speaker, Daniel Denton, a Stockton elementary school teacher who was born in Mexico, said he was a hard-drinking veteran of the Gulf War when he began to explore Islam in 1994. At the invitation of Muslims at Delta College, he went to a mosque. “There was a carpet on the floor, and the walls were bare. I wondered, ‘Where is everything?’ and then I realized that was everything. If you go to a Catholic church, every few feet they have an image or a statue, but in Islam, there is no association between God and any image.” Denton also was impressed by the Islamic belief that each individual will be judged by their deeds on Judgment Day. That night, he took the shahada, the Muslim vow that says “There is only one God, Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.” When he started fasting for Ramadan, “I heard my relatives in Stockton were calling my mom in San Diego and telling her I had become a terrorist and was doing drugs,” Denton said. “When I went down to San Diego toward the end of Ramadan, I had lost 15 pounds and was starting to grow my beard. My mom was just in tears for days.” But, Denton said, his mother soon realized that instead of partying, he was staying home and talking to her as he had never done before. “As she began to see the change, she came to accept it, and now she’s happy. There’s a saying in Islam that goes, ‘Heaven lies at the feet of the mother. You have to treat her well at all times, take care of her.’” Denton, 29, sees similarities between Islamic and Latino culture. “I’ve noticed that if you take away the crosses, the alcohol and the pork, the smells in my house are similar to Muslim homes. So is the behavior - the respect for family.” VIEWED AS A TRAITOR Those similarities also ring true for Italian Americans such asWilson andNicole Ianieri, who teaches Italian language classes in Davis andWoodland. “After the birth of my children (Miles in 1996 and Darius in 1998), I began to feel a very spiritual need,” said Wilson, who converted in 1998. “If I don’t pray five times a day, I get a little antsy. It’s as if my whole day is out of whack.” Wilson’s wife and mother accept his change of faith. But Ianieri, 24, initially was viewed as a traitor. Ianieri, whose father is an Italian immigrant, said shewas raised “a very strong Catholic.” Then, as a teenager, she befriended a Muslim youth from Egypt and became curious about Islam. A few years later, a college friend invited her toamosque. “As soonas Iwalked in, I felt a senseof belonging, a senseof community that in all my years of going to church, I’d never felt. There were people fromall over theworld sharing the same goals, and it touchedme.” Finally, during Ramadan, she broke the news to her parents. “They were really shocked initially, and who can blame them? They met me for lunch, which was kind of a bad choice, because I couldn’t eat or drink anything, and I was wearing a scarf and, unfortunately, the cheapest material was black, and I’m all pale from not eating. “My dad’s words were, ‘You’re Italian. Italians are Catholic. You were born a Catholic, and you’re going to die a Catholic.’ ... My momwas crying.” Ianieri said she no longer was welcome to serve as vice president of her Italian cultural group. One association member, a relative, telephoned to say “I no longer represented the cultural values they wished to represent. Fifty years ago, in the village, what were women wearing? They were wearing long skirts and scarves, like me. They were moral.” Ianieri eventually married a Moroccan immigrant who has been embraced by her parents. “Their biggest problem wasn’t about the religion, but about the way I dress,” she said. The hijab - worn by some Muslim women, but not others - can make life for young Muslims difficult in America. PRESSURE TO DATE Asma Ghori, 20, a UC Davis student from India, says high school dances and college nights out have been exercises in misery. “I can’t eat the food. I can’t dance, because I don’t dance in front of men. I can’t dress the way other women dress. I don’t drink, and I don’t go with a date - what’s the point?” Ghori’s friend Roohina Diwan, a pre-med student who emigrated from Afghanistan as young girl, said that in high school she was called a “scarf head,” “turbanator” and other slurs. After the Oklahoma City bombing, she said, schoolmates asked her if she knew how to make bombs. But it’s not just bigoted attitudes toward Muslims that bother Diwan. “Every time you turn on the TV, the word sex comes up about a million times,” she said. “In high school, I felt a lot of pressure to date and have a boyfriend.” At Davis, she has struggled with the drinking and mating habits of her non-Muslim friends and roommates. BecauseMuslimvalues so often clash with mainstream American behavior, Diwan identifies as Muslim - not American. Diwan has served as a spiritual guide for her friend, Thy Loun, who was born in Cambodia a Buddhist, then became a Christian before converting to Islam last April. Loun said she’s traded nights of clubbing in mini-skirts for a hijab and the calmness that comes with daily prayer. “When I have on the hijab, it makes me aware of what I do, and that I’m accountable for all my actions,” she said. “I have an identity.” Loun and her husband, a Mexican American Catholic, are among many American Muslims struggling with the Quran’s ban against usury, which holds that Muslims can’t make a profit lending money. “Maybe we’ll get an interest-free checking account,” she said. Jameela Houda Salem said her Egyptian husband refuses to buy life insurance because the Qur’an says it’s sinful to profit off someone’s death. “That’s one of my issues, because I’m a licensed insurance agent,” said Salem, who was raised Jewish and Catholic by divorced parents in Brooklyn. “I have faith that God will provide for me, but I also want the $250,000 (in the event of her husband’s sudden death) to pay off the house. “I’m working on the faith issue.” Salem, who said she studied 11 religions before converting to Islam last year, said it’s been a little tough getting used to her husband’s belief that “the man is the head of the household and he does have the last say.” “As an American woman who’s been on her own for a number of years, I’m used to having my own say.”
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