Its Been A While

Its been a minute since I've posted something on here, working on a new layout for the site and will have consistent updates soon inshallah.

Eid Mubarak

Whuts good yal, happy eid, its been a minute since I posted some'm online, hopefully, I will have regular daily posts from now on, after november that is.

PACE MAGAZINE 10

I'm finally posting something --- news more like -- PACE (people are connected everywhere) Magazine is now updated online --- check it out, its our tenth issue and finally we're gonna celebrate this summer hopefully --- you can view last issue here (9).

A Helpless Nation

At some point in our lives we abandon our hopes, and sadly many Somalis have abandoned their hopes and aspirations for conflict free Somalia.

I have seen many people, even those around me, invest and make new identities here. Somalia to them is a distant land where their parents send couple hundreds every month. They’re not even eager to get a glimpse of Somalia anymore – I’m not eager myself to see war pictures, and the documentations of the many calamities that take place there.

We can’t help this land, the land and its inhabitants have slipped into an eternal coma, where there is life momentarily, and where death lurks in every corner in every form, this is Somalia. The same thing that divides and kills, also sustains lives – let us cure our permanent disease, our AIDS = QABIIL. Is that even possible?

Ayan Hersi

Ayan Hersi, the most wanted Somali female in the Diaspora. Ayan Hersi, has said some bad things about Islam, the Prophet (PBUH). She is guarded twenty four seven, she does not sleep in the same place, and the threats she receives are out of this world. Somalis have expressed their opinions about her, and they’re not happy.

As Somalis we tend to be reactionary most of the time, especially when someone from our own culture uses inadequate discourse against the religion. Ayan Hersi is an idealist, propagandists and a mouthpiece for cultural colonialists. She believes that other cultures within Europe should assimilate and adapt to western cultures.

Ayan Hersi has waged war against Islam by suggesting that Muslim families should not force the hijab on girls [at a young age], and those girls should have voice and exist – I think religion becomes a choice for us at some point – but she’s suggesting that Muslim families should not teach the religion to their children at a young age – than what should they learn? Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, but not Islam – or should they simply become godless liberal objectivists like her? Should they believe in human spirituality and that nothing exists out there and that ultimately resort to the here and now attitude - and the ‘we are here now’ attitude does not work for all of us. If she is advocating human agency within Islam, I think it’s a bit pathetic to assume that it didn’t exist in the first place. She portrays Islam as a hostile religion, when its not. I think we give her a sense of defeat and purpose when we deploy reactionary tactics against her ideology. Ayan has waged war against multiculturalism in her host country– did she forget that she is a minority to begin with and that her host nation will always see her as a minority. Again we have to ask ourselves, whether she is intriguing, or is she a mouthpiece for the anti-Islamic movement. I think she will kill herself, when we stop talking about her, she enjoys the fact she started a hate cult against her.

I think we should deploy less reactionary, or violent tactics to battle people like Ayan Hersi, we can’t use physical or verbal threats against her, we can only change her through rational means – lets not forget she is very dangerous – unlike many Somalis, she follows the process – she can change policy and impact lives. I have no problem with her being an Atheist, but I do have a problem when you decide to dismantle the Islamic way of life through policy. It is crucial that we engage people like Ayan in more civilized dialogue, and perhaps convince her that she is wrong to be thinking that way.

10 Things

Note // I'm Somali to begin with, and I’m not literally hating on everyone, just hose who have these tendencies, its just annoying sometimes. I’ do not hate on Somalis, other people of other origins have similar tendencies, and I’m just saying that we tend to overdue it sometimes. Most of those things apply to me as well.

1.Talking like they’re the experts of all things known to man. 2.Thinking that they’re smarter than you because they’re older 3.Only praying when they’re around religious people. 4.Using ‘af-arabi’ too much. 5.Supporting clan politics when they know nothing about the past, simply because they overheard their father b!tch about another clan over the phone with his khat-addicted coffee time friends. 6.Youth who hate their peers because they drink/do drugs/ and party hard, get some excitement in your lives. 7.Pray or Party – there is no balance. 8.Gossip folks – young and old 9.People who assume that because you’re in university you’ll be someone in the future, no some of us will be working at McDonalds. 10.People who hate on those who are making money --- stop wasting your time hating, start thinking about how you can make it too.

Liars & Believers

Time Magazine’s interview with Marwan, an Iraqi insurgent who plans to blow himself up to further the cause of getting the American’s out of Iraq. The article was posted on Somalia Online, and one of the nomads has pointed out that the words fundamentalism, and radical was not used in the entire article. So here is a little response or rather an opinion why they’re not used as much, and how the language of the media is constantly shifting. The last two terms [fundamentalism and radical] are disappearing because they are occasionally used against the Bush administrations, terms such as Christian fundamentalism’ and ‘radical conservatism’ are somewhat redundant in liberal media critique against George Bush Jr. It’s even interesting when we evaluate the usage of language in the media – for example, we the see the dehumanization of suicide bombers by calling them ‘homicide bombers’ – it sidetracks their political cause - ultimately categorizing them into a criminal/and animalistic group. In addition to that, when Palestinians homes are destroyed, and demolished – the media often uses words such as ‘raze’ -the word sounds like ‘raise’ and people might think that it implies a non-destructive event, when in fact, raze means to destroy, flatten and etc. Even in the US political discourse – we clearly see the shift in language usage – for example compassionate conservatism is one concept that has been used a lot lately. Even this interview – we don’t get to empathize with Marwan – we see him as a person with conflicting beliefs. The writer examines him as a person, who is infatuated with the idea or theory of insurgency – he paints him as someone who is mesmerized by the pop-idolization of suicide bombing – the writer even emphasizes Marwans political ideas of global dominance post-liberation Iraq (don’t forget Marwan wants Americans out of Iraq first), showcasing that Marwan is too emotional, irrational, and his political beliefs to be entirely utopian. Western media has portrayed suicide bombers as irrelevant actors in Middle Eastern politics. Rather they have discredited them as political worriers and painted them as terrorists. They have often showed us that suicide bombing is a culture of worship –I remember on a report on TV showing posters of suicide bombers and the kind of respect, and celebrity status they get. By showing us this clip, or even the analytical overview or even presenting the concept into public discourse – it diminishes political apathy and discredits the overall cause. In fact when we see posters of bombers in local shops – there’s an element of desire – ultimately it’s not in the path to liberation, but the path to post-mortality superstardom. To live in misery is hell in it self – but to complete a horrible existence with a horrendous event – and after all be loved when your gone – who can resist that. In the lonely crowds of the willing as Beanie Sigel once suggested in a song ‘everybody wants to be a star.’ Muslim Westerners might think this, but than again, Sigel also suggests in another track that we often talk liberal, think Muslim and act like a Kufar. The US plans to occupy Iraq for the next decade, and please believe that Iraqi-Insurgent Idol will have truckloads of contestants. Perhaps they are true believers of the cause and the media should not display them in such manner, they should make serious of their paths – and showcase why they’re doing what they’re doing – and most of all they should not make them out to be human missiles that are ideologically handicapped. Instead they should emphasize their struggles, and at best acknowledge their tactics to be meaningful, effective, and politically feasible in the long run.