VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Volume 198, August 28, 2011

St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editors: Haji. Mohamed & Hajira Rashida Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

EDITORIAL:

In this issue, we would like to revisit a cultural practice relating to FAT FARMS in Mauritania where young (human) females are sent to above farms with the sole purpose of becoming not only overweight but one step beyond it - OBESE.

With all due respect to different national and ethnic groups of the Global Ummah, we want to make it clear at the outset that we respect their right to decide which cultural practice they would like to maintain and which they would like to discard. We acknowledge and realize that it is a part of their own unique, cultural stamp & identity. As long as the cultural practice is done voluntarily by ADULTS, we have no major problems.

HOWEVER WE DO HAVE PROBLEMS IF OUR MUSLIM ADULT IS FORCED OR COERCED INTO IT AND IF IT INVOLVES CHILDREN WHO ARE ALSO FORCED, COERCED AND PHYSICALLY PUNISHED FOR RESISTING SUCH A UNHEALTHY PRACTICE IN THE NAME OF CULTURE.

Isn't it mind-boggling to note from below articles, above cultural practice essentially forces a female to take actions of excessive overeating and thereby reduce her own lifespan by falling a victim to increased risk health risks such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, respiratory problems, cancer, metabolic syndrome and psychosocial effects. Further per researchers from Rand Corporation the negative impact of Obesity is worse than smoking, drinking or poverty.

For those Mauritanians who accuse us with interfering in their cultural practices and customs, we respectfully plead "NOT GUILTY".

We ask: What are the obligations and rights of a fellow member of the Global Ummah ? Does our common bond END with our common belief "La Illaha Illallah Muhammadur Rasullullah" (There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Prophet of God)? Do fellow members of the Global Ummah have the right to express their care and concern for other members of the Global Ummah ? Is it is crime to make suggestions to reduce HARM REDUCTION of our Mauritanian sisters including female children some of whom are forced to become obese ? Some of them forced to consume their own vomit if their bodies reject all excessive food and beverage. Each girl's daily intake could easily reach 14,000 to 16,000 calories. Further, female children are forced to undergo a torture (ZAYAR) using two sticks inserted each side of a toe.

(www.zippybites.com)

When a child refuses to drink or eat, the "fattener" squeezes the sticks together causing great pain or beats the girl with a cane. To add insult to injury, all the sacrifices made by the female to get accepted by her husband/society may not sustain long enough with a FORTY PERCENT DIVORCE RATE.

Hello, what is going on in above situation ? Should the Global Ummah turn a blind eye to the suffering of our sisters and children in Mauritania ? Or is it a fact that in reality, the concept of Ummah is PERPETUALLY FREEZED AT A SPIRITUAL LEVEL (Muslims getting together for prayers on Fridays and during Eid occasions) and the Ummah is unable to transcend itself in its day to day application of genuine Islamic values of universal love and caring for each other in matters of social and community living.

When when we speak of Global Ummah, we literally mean one universal Muslim community whose members care for each other.

It is stated in the Holy Quran: 23:52:
"And verily this Ummah of yours IS A SINGLE UMMAH and I am your Lord and Cherisher: Therefore Fear Me (and no other)."

Prophet Mohamed (SAW) said:

"The believers, in their love, mutual kindness, and close ties, are like one body; when any part complains, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever." [Muslim]

Based on the above, as Muslims, it does pain us to know of a cultural practice that is taken for granted and practiced, resulting in harm to our Muslim sisters in Mauritania.

Further if adults in Mauritania decide to continue the practice, we don't have much choice, however when children are forced to participate in such a cultural practice that is harmful to them from a medical and psychological perspective, then of course such a practice goes way beyond just a "cultural issue" and enters the arena of "human rights" issue for which we are deeply troubled. Our concern is not only as a member of the Global Ummah but also as human beings who value the importance of human rights and right of the children to be raised free of torture and practices that damage their own health and well being.

On the positive side, one great cultural attribute that exists in Mauritania that is rarely found in rest of the Muslim world relates to significantly reduced negative perception against divorced women by prospective husbands. One could argue that they are the role models for rest of the Muslim world. Most of us know the social pressures a divorced woman particularly in the Muslim world faces. What steps are Muslims taking to ease the pain and hardship a divorced female experiences in her pursuit to get a second chance in the world of marital relationships.

In this E-Zine, we will start off first highlighting the above positive attribute and then follow up on an area of improvement in terms of the continued cultural practice of FAT FARMS. As a objective reminder of what we mean by harm, we have also highlighted the harmful effects of obesity.

Last but not the least, we want to acknowledge that Mauritanian music seems to us to be awesome and we included of video of such music.

PART I

Mauritanians Race to Win the Hand of the Divorced

December 28th, 2010

www.peacenewspaper.net

Unlike the situation of women in the Arab world, Mauritanians rejoice for the divorced woman and they even race in order to win her hand!

Deutsche Welle mentioned that Mauritanian poets compete in writing poetry about the beauty of divorced women in Mauritania, even each one of them manifest his will to get married with her out of courtesy sometimes.

In addition Mauritanian men have no objection to marry divorced women, moreover, some of them prefer to get married to a divorced women rather than a virgin woman.

This phenomenon increased the rate of divorce in Mauritania in an unprecedented way. 40 out of 100 marriages end with divorce in Mauritania, and studies indicate that 72 % of divorced women get married again.

Some researchers believe that this phenomenon is widespread due several factors: among these factors, the existence of some ceremonial rituals by which the divorced woman is received, and the men engage to compensate her through a phenomenon known as “E’ Tehrash” in which unmarried men show their interest in the divorced woman and pay a visit to her as soon as she comes back home. In addition, men who divorced their women do not find a rejection on the part of other women, even if they know that they are addicted to divorce. Moreover, there is no “post-dowry” in Mauritania, where Mauritanian men are not obliged to pay anything in the case of divorce.

The Mauritanian woman refuses firmly polygamy especially those who belong to the Arab majority while it is a norm among the Afro-minority. “And this is what imprison the Arab man in the hell of the house” as confess a man for Deutsche Welle, “ which pushes him to go out through the door of divorce or leads him to have secret marriages which end up in their turn in divorce.” As a result all the doors are open to divorce in the Mauritanian society.

It is ironic that the source of the woman pride is the number of her marriages and divorces, and even it is a sign of her beauty and the interest of men in her.

As a result this fact may lead women to boast about the number of her marriages or may lead them to divorce in order to add a number to their record of ex-husbands.

In an interview for the Deutsche Welle, Sidi Ahmed, a young Mauritanian who works for the ministry of secondary education, confirmed that he started to think seriously of marriage, and has precise criteria of the future partner that he is still looking for and on top of these criteria : she should be divorced regardless how many times, he assures that he is looking for a woman who has experience in life and who could help him carry out his family and work duties , instead of a girl who still needs protection and indulgence and this is “a thing that work and material conditions do not allow” , according to him .

PART II

FAT FARMS

(Fat women are traditionally seen as more desirable)
www.news.bbc.co.uk



(Obesity is seen as a sign that a husband cares for his wife)
(www.news.bbc.co.uk)



www.guardian.co.uk


FORCED TO BE FAT

July 21, 2011
www.marieclaire.com
Abigail Haworth
(condensed version)

In Mauritania, where big is beautiful and stretch marks are sexy, young girls are brutally force-fed a diet of up to 16,000 calories a day - more than four times that of a male body builder - to prepare them for marriage.

(Zeinebou Mint Mohamed, 26, shows off her stretch marks, a major turn-on for Mauritanian men. Photo Credit: Joost De Raeymaeker)

It sounded like summer camp. "You're going on vacation to the desert to meet other girls and eat sweet food," Tijanniya Mint Tijani's mother told her. Tijanniya was excited. "She said that by the time I returned home, I'd be a beautiful woman."

Ten days later, Tijanniya, 14, a sporty student from the town of Atar in the West African country of Mauritania, is eating breakfast with five other girls, ages 7 to 12, in a cramped sandstone hut deep in the Sahara Desert. Her stomach is already bloated from huge quantities of goat's milk and oily couscous, but the meal is not over. The next course is a pint of pounded millet mixed with water. Tijanniya chokes down the thick gruel — she has no choice. An older woman dressed in pink robes threatens to beat her with a long cane if she refuses. Worse, if she throws up, the woman will make her eat her own vomit. Outside, a strong wind whips sand into strange, phantasmagoric shapes. The girls have been sent to this desolate spot near Atar to endure the practice of leblouh — intensive force-feeding. "The aim is to feed them until their bodies blow up like balloons," says Aminetou Mint Elhacen, 50, the woman wielding the cane.

The ideal of feminine beauty in Mauritania, a country one-and-a-half times the size of Texas and blanketed in desert, is like America's cult of superthinness in reverse. Mauritanian tradition holds that among women, rolling layers of fat are the height of sexiness. The preference originated centuries ago among the Moors, nomadic Muslims of Arabic and Berber stock who make up two-thirds of Mauritania's 3.1 million people. To the ancient Moors, a fat wife (much like fat livestock) was a symbol of a man's wealth, proof that he had enough riches to feed her generously while others perished in the drought-prone terrain.

Until recently, it appeared that force-feeding and the big-is-beautiful ethos were dying out.

Now big women are back in vogue, and the custom of funneling rich food into young girls like geese farmed for foie gras is once again thriving unchecked. Elhacen, a droopy-eyed professional force-feeder, estimates that around Atar, a commercial hub 250 miles from Nouakchott, the proportion of girls undergoing force-feeding has climbed to over 80 percent. Government figures from before the 2008 coup put the rate at 50 to 60 percent in rural areas and 20 to 30 percent in cities. "The practice is re-emerging because men still find mounds of female flesh comforting and erotic," explains Seyid Ould Seyid, a Mauritanian male journalist. "The attraction is ingrained from birth."

Elhacen, who makes the equivalent of $155 for each girl she force-feeds over a three-month period, is delighted. "I have a lot more clients again," she notes. Her current "clients" are lying down in the hut in glassy-eyed exhaustion, digesting breakfast. Elhacen mixes crushed dates and peanuts with couscous and oil to make the second of the day's four meals — cloying, egg-size balls of around 300 calories apiece. Each girl eats about 40 per day, along with 12 pints of goat's milk and gruel, making their daily intake 14,000 to 16,000 calories. The recommended consumption for a healthy 12-year-old girl averages 1500 calories; an adult male bodybuilder eats up to 4000.

"My stomach hurts," groans Tijanniya. The daughter of livestock dealers, she's furious with her parents for sending her here. "I don't want to be fat. I don't think it's beautiful. Now I see why some girls at school came back fat after vacation, but they were much prettier before." Tijanniya adjusts her electric-blue mulafa, revealing a yellow T-shirt and trendy denim skirt underneath. "I love sports. I'm scared I won't be able to run fast when I'm fat."

(Young girls choke down high-calorie gruel under the watchful eye of their cane-wielding "fattener")

(Goadedby her fattener, Tijanniya Mint Tijani, 14, drinks a large bowl of creamy camel's milk)

PART III:

Girls Being Force-fed for Marriage as Fattening Farms Revived

Alex Duval Smith, Africa correspondent

The Observer,

28 February 2009

Campaigners in Mauritania accuse the new military regime of turning a blind eye to a cult of obesity among young girls being groomed for suitors

Photograph: EPA

Mauritanian women wait to vote, but since a coup last year their rights are being eroded and old customs such as fattening for marriage are back.

Fears are growing for the fate of thousands of young girls in rural Mauritania, where campaigners say the cruel practice of force-feeding young girls for marriage is making a significant comeback since a military junta took over the West African country.

Aminetou Mint Ely, a women's rights campaigner, said girls as young as five were still being subjected to the tradition of leblouh every year. The practice sees them tortured into swallowing gargantuan amounts of food and liquid - and consuming their vomit if they reject it.

"In Mauritania, a woman's size indicates the amount of space she occupies in her husband's heart," said Mint Ely, head of the Association of Women Heads of Households. ''We have gone backwards".

A children's rights lawyer, Fatimata M'baye, echoed Ely's pessimism. "I have never managed to bring a case in defence of a force-fed child. The politicians are scared of questioning their own traditions. Rural marriages usually take place under customary law or are overseen by a marabou (a Muslim preacher). No state official gets involved, so there is no arbiter to check on the age of the bride." Yet, she said, Mauritania had signed both international and African treaties protecting the rights of the child.

Leblouh is intimately linked to early marriage and often involves a girl of five, seven or nine being obliged to eat excessively to achieve female roundness and corpulence, so that she can be married off as young as possible. Girls from rural families are taken for leblouh at special "fattening farms" where older women, or the children's aunts or grandmothers, will administer pounded millet, camel's milk and water in quantities that make them ill. A typical daily diet for a six-year-old will include two kilos of pounded millet, mixed with two cups of butter, as well as 20 litres of camel's milk. "The fattening is done during the school holidays or in the rainy season when milk is plentiful," said M'baye. "The girl is sent away from home without understanding why. She suffers but is told that being fat will bring her happiness. Matrons use sticks which they roll on the girl's thighs, to break down tissue and hasten the process."

Other leblouh practices include a subtle form of torture - zayar - using two sticks inserted each side of a toe. When a child refuses to drink or eat, the matron squeezes the sticks together, causing great pain. A successful fattening process will see a 12-year-old weigh 80kg. "If she vomits she must drink it. By the age of 15 she will look 30," said M'baye.

Historians say the practice dates back to pre-colonial times when all Mauritania's white Moor Arabs were nomads. The richer the man, the less his wife would do - the preference being for her to sit still all day in her tent while her black slaves saw to household chores. Ancient Berber quatrains laud tebtath (stretchmarks) as jewels. Even today lekhwassar (fat around the waist) is given lyrical pride of place and girls sent for fattening gain the stature of mbelha.

The resurgence of the practice in rural Mauritania is a depressing setback for campaigners after previous education and awareness campaigns were apparently having a tangible effect. "The challenge we face is that these girls live in rural areas and do not have access to information," said Ely.

But Ely and M'baye insist the fat "ideal" is back. Ely cites the life-threatening weight-gain practices of some grown women. "To remain fat, as adults, they take animal hormones or buy prescription drugs with appetite-enhancing side-effects. A woman died in hospital in Nouakchott last week. I'm afraid this problem is still very much with us."

PART IV

OBESITY:

www.en.wikipedia.org

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems.

Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view it as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century.

Obesity is stigmatized in much of the modern world (particularly in the Western world), though it was widely perceived as a symbol of wealth and fertility at other times in history, and still is in some parts of the world.

PART V

The Health Risks of Obesity Worse Than Smoking, Drinking, or Poverty

www.rand.org

Obesity is widely recognized as a health risk. The negative effects of obesity and other known health risks, such as smoking, heavy drinking, and poverty, have been well documented. But until now, no one has compared them. Is one problem worse than another? Or are they all equally risky?

Two RAND researchers, health economist Roland Sturm and psychiatrist Kenneth Wells, examined the comparative effects of obesity, smoking, heavy drinking, and poverty on chronic health conditions and health expenditures. Their finding: Obesity is the most serious problem. It is linked to a big increase in chronic health conditions and significantly higher health expenditures. And it affects more people than smoking, heavy drinking, or poverty.

PART VI

HEALTH EFFECTS OF OBESITY:

www.stanfordhospital.org

Obesity has a far-ranging negative effect on health. Each year obesity-related conditions cost over 150 billion dollars and cause an estimated 300,000 premature deaths in the US.

The health effects associated with obesity include, but are not limited to, the following:

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE:

Additional fat tissue in the body needs oxygen and nutrients in order to live, which requires the blood vessels to circulate more blood to the fat tissue. This increases the workload of the heart because it must pump more blood through additional blood vessels. More circulating blood also means more pressure on the artery walls. Higher pressure on the artery walls increases the blood pressure. In addition, extra weight can raise the heart rate and reduce the body's ability to transport blood through the vessels.

DIABETES:

Obesity is the major cause of type 2 diabetes. This type of diabetes usually begins in adulthood but, is now actually occurring in children. Obesity can cause resistance to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. When obesity causes insulin resistance, the blood sugar becomes elevated. Even moderate obesity dramatically increases the risk of diabetes.

HEART DISEASE:

Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) is present 10 times more often in obese people compared to those who are not obese. Coronary artery disease is also more prevalent because fatty deposits build up in arteries that supply the heart. Narrowed arteries and reduced blood flow to the heart can cause chest pain (angina) or a heart attack. Blood clots can also form in narrowed arteries and cause a stroke.

JOINT PROBLEMS INCLUDING OSTEOARTHRITIS:

Obesity can affect the knees and hips because of the stress placed on the joints by extra weight. Joint replacement surgery, while commonly performed on damaged joints, may not be an advisable option for an obese person because the artificial joint has a higher risk of loosening and causing further damage.

SLEEP APNEA AD RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS:

Sleep apnea, which causes people to stop breathing for brief periods, interrupts sleep throughout the night and causes sleepiness during the day. It also causes heavy snoring. Respiratory problems associated with obesity occur when added weight of the chest wall squeezes the lungs and causes restricted breathing. Sleep apnea is also associated with high blood pressure.

CANCER:

In women, being overweight contributes to an increased risk for a variety of cancers including breast, colon, gallbladder, and uterus. Men who are overweight have a higher risk of colon and prostate cancers.

METABOLIC SYNDROME:

The National Cholesterol Education Program has identified metabolic syndrome as a complex risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Metabolic syndrome consists of six major components: abdominal obesity, elevated blood cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, insulin resistance with or without glucose intolerance, elevation of certain blood components that indicate inflammation, and elevation of certain clotting factors in the blood. In the US, approximately one-third of overweight or obese persons exhibit metabolic syndrome.

PSYCHOSOCIAL EFFECTS:

In a culture where often the ideal of physical attractiveness is to be overly thin, people who are overweight or obese frequently suffer disadvantages. Overweight and obese persons are often blamed for their condition and may be considered to be lazy or weak-willed. It is not uncommon for overweight or obese conditions to result in persons having lower incomes or having fewer or no romantic relationships. Disapproval of overweight persons expressed by some individuals may progress to bias, discrimination, and even torment.

PART VII

AWESOME MAURITANIAN MUSIC VIDEO

THE END

VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH

Volume 197, August 21, 011
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, The Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful

www.xeniagreekmuslimah.wordpress.com

EDITORIAL:

In this E-Zine, we have highlighted yet another good example of building interfaith relations. We have also discussed about extremism raising its ugly head again and small victories for women against injustice.

PART I

INTERFAITH RELATIONS:

Paris: Jews, Muslims Build Bridges via Social Networking

www.jta.org
(The Global News Service of the Jewish People)

At a glance, the Muslim-Jewish picnic at the peace fountain in Yitzhak Rabin Garden, in this city's Bercy Park, looks like a reunion of old friends.

Middle-aged men and women sit on blankets and laugh together, snacking on carrots and Middle Eastern pastries. A circle of women dances wildly to the tunes of a guitarist and tambourine player.

But many of the 100 or so people there have never met -- at least not face to face.

They are part of a groundbreaking group that is trying to build bridges between Muslims and Jews in France by fostering a community on Facebook where members can interact directly online about the issues that divide them, and then meet at occasional social gatherings like the recent picnic in Paris.

The group is called Shalom / Paix / Salam -- the Hebrew, French and Arabic words for peace.

“It’s revolutionary,” says Mohamed Kamli, a Muslim law student at the Sorbonne and one of the group’s assistant directors.

PART II

EXTREMISM RAISES ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN, THIS TIME FROM OUR OWN MUSLIM BROTHER

"Mankind is but one community" (Holy Quran)

(ED NOTE:

It is really a shame that one of our own from the global ummah has been involved in racist abuse, shouting "all Jewish children must die" and "Jewish people were ‘animals’ who ‘should not be allowed in this country". The whole world knows, what Israel has done to Palestinians is unfair and blatantly unjust. But to make a blanket negative racist statement towards all Jews is a totally wrong approach. Let Taha Osman know that the overwhelming majority of Muslims across the world do not hold his extremist/racist views. There are millions of Muslims who will be ready to defend the rights of children. As for us personally, we are ready to give our lives for defending children. We really don't care whether the child is a Jew, Muslim, Christian, Hindu or Buddhist. A child is a child - THE MOST INNOCENT AMONG MANKIND").

Why is that man shouting at you mummy? Taxi driver hurled racist abuse at mums outside Jewish school in Crumpsall

July 19, 2011

www.menmedia.co.uk

Taha Osman, 36, shrieked 'All Jewish children must die' at shocked mums outside King David School in Crumpsall

A taxi driver ranted racial abuse outside a Jewish school after getting stuck in a traffic jam.

Taha Osman shrieked ‘All Jewish children must die!’ after his car was hemmed in by parents picking up pupils outside King David School in Crumpsall.

Two mums on the school run and a teaching assistant were singled out in a foul-mouthed and ‘frightening’ tirade witnessed by kids, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Osman – an Iraqi Kurd who has settled in Britain – also shouted that Jewish people were ‘animals’ who ‘should not be allowed in this country’.

The 36-year-old denied causing religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress in a trial, but was found guilty by the jury.

Sentencing him to a community order, Judge David Stockdale QC said it was a ‘particularly nasty offence’ – but did not warrant a jail sentence.

PART III

(ED NOTE:

Fighting injustice against women is a continued battle. Even a small victory gives more hope and motivation to move forward in such a historical struggle. The news below of two more victories against inhumane treatment of imprisoned women is definitely a positive news).

Two More Victories against Inhumane Treatment of Imprisoned Women
by Rachel Roth,
RH Reality Check
August 19, 2011

"In April, I wrote about an important federal court decision holding the Nashville Sheriff’s Office accountable for violating a woman’s rights by shackling her during labor and then denying her access to a breast pump when she was taken back to jail after giving birth.

Today, The Tennessean reports that a federal jury awarded the woman $200,000 in damages for the wrongs she suffered at the hands of the government.

Notably, the judge ruled that the woman’s immigration status was irrelevant to the jury’s decision about whether the Sheriff should compensate her for having violated her rights.

In other news today, the Virginia Department of Corrections announced that it would no longer shackle women during labor, birth, or post-partum recovery.

These developments are two more tangible signs of the growing recognition that all women, including those who have been arrested or are undocumented, deserve to give birth in safe, humane, and dignified circumstances.

PART IV-A

ON THE LIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE

(You can't afford to be serious all the time)

ED NOTE:
Thanks to Dr. Lewis for forwarding below e-mail regarding the elderly/senior citizens. What could the young learn from the below ?

Someone had to remind me,
so I'm reminding you too.
Don't laugh....
It is all true...

Perks of reaching 50 or being over 60!


1. Kidnappers are not very interested in you..

2. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.

3. No one expects you to run--anywhere.

4. People call at 9 pm and ask, Did I wake you?

5. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.

6. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.

7. Things you buy now won't wear out.

8. You can eat supper at 4 pm.

9. You can live without sex but not your glasses.

10. You get into heated arguments
about pension plans.

11. You no longer think of speed
limits as a challenge.

12. You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks
into the room.

13. You sing along with elevator music..

14. Your eyes won't get much worse.

15 . Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.

16. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.

17. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.

18. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size.

19. You can't remember who sent you this list.

And you notice these are all in big print for your convenience.

Forward this to every one you can remember right now!

Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

PART IV-B

TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU'VE EVER BEEN,
YET THE YOUNGEST YOU'LL EVER BE,
SO ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS.

Observations on Growing Older

Your kids are becoming you & you don't like ‘em.

But your grandchildren are perfect!

Going out is good.

Coming home is better!

When people say you look "Great", they add … "for your age!"

When you needed the discount, you paid full price.

Now you get discounts on everything ...

Movies, hotels, flights … but you're too tired to use them.

You forget names, but it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!!

The 5 lbs you wanted to lose is now 15, & you have a better chance of losing your keys than the 15 lbs.

You realize you're never going to be really good at anything ... Especially golf.

Your spouse is counting on you to remember things you don't remember.

The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore.

Your husband sleeps better on a lounge chair w/the TV blaring than he does in bed. It's called his "pre-sleep".

Remember when your mother said,

"Wear clean underwear in case you GET in an accident"?

Now you bring clean underwear in case you HAVE an accident!

You used to say,

"I hope my kids GET married.”

Now, "I hope they STAY married!"

You miss the days when everything worked w/just an "ON" & "OFF" switch.

When GOOGLE, ipod, email & modem were unheard of. And a mouse was something that made you climb on a table.

You tend to use more 4 letter words like "what?" & "when?".

Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.

Your husband has a night out w/the guys,

But he's home by 9:00PM. Next week it will be 8:30PM.

You read 100 pages into a book before you realize you've read it.

Notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?

What used to be freckles are now liver spots.

Everybody whispers.

Now that your husband has retired, you'd give anything if he'd find a job!

You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet … 2 of which you will never wear.

But old is good in some things:

Old songs, old movies,

And best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!!


Love you, "OLD FRIEND!"

Send this on to other "Old Friends!" & let them laugh in AGREEMENT!!!

It's Not What You Gather, But What You Scatter That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived

THE END

VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH
Volume 196, August 14, 2011
St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Editors: Mohamed & Rashida Ziauddin

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and Merciful

Editorial:

In this E-Zine, we have discussed on issues of interfaith relations, extremism raising its ugly head again, reproductive health and human rights.

(www.xeniagreekmuslimah.wordpress.com)

PART I

INTERFAITH RELATIONS:

AUSTRIA:

Christian-Jewish-Muslim-prayers-for-Habsburg
www.seattlepi.com

(Riflemen carry the coffins of Otto von Habsburg and his wife Regina in Mariazell, Austria Tuesday July 12, 2011. The oldest son of Austria-Hungary's last emperor and longtime head of one of Europe's most influential families had died Monday July 4, 2011 at the age of 98. His wife had died in 2010. Now the couple will be reunited. The burial is scheduled for Saturday July 16, 2011 in Vienna. Photo: Hans Punz / dapd)

VIENNA (AP)
Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders have gathered in prayer at the Vienna church where the coffins of the son of Austria's last emperor and his wife are lying in state. Praying Thursday for Otto Von Habsburg and his wife, Regina, were Auxiliary Bishop Stephan Turnovszky, Rabbi Steven Langnas and Chief Mufti Mustafa Ceric of Sarajevo.

Karl Habsburg, the oldest son of the late couple, said his father believed in religious tolerance, noting that the Austro-Hungarian empire encompassed believers of all three religions.

Habsburg died July 4 at age 98 in southern Germany. His wife died last year. The dynasty ruled for more than seven centuries until the end of World War I. They will be buried Saturday in a pomp-filled ceremony at the Emperor Tomb in Vienna.

PART II

EXTREMISM HAS RAISED ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN:

Man seriously assaulted in Kilmarnock, UK
(www.cumnockchronicle.com)
(condensed version)
15 Jul 2011 13:30

Police at Kilmarnock are continuing enquiries and appealing for information after an elderly man was seriously assaulted in the early hours of Friday 15 July 2011.

The 71-year-old Asian man was discovered with serious facial injuries around 0130 hrs on Friday 15 July 2011 outside the Community Mosque in Hill Street, Kilmarnock.

It is believed that he was attacked prior to opening the Mosque for a prayer session and was discovered by two fellow members of the Mosque who informed the emergency services.

The injured man was taken by ambulance to Crosshouse Hospital where he is currently being treated for his injuries. Hospital staff describe his condition as stable.

Chief Inspector Wilson Brown at Kilmarnock Police Office said:

"This is a despicable act of violence carried out on a defenceless man. At this time there would appear to be no motive for this attack however we can't rule out the possibility of it being racially motivated.

"It is believed that the man was attacked prior to him opening the Mosque and it is not known how long he may have been lying on the ground injured before two fellow members discovered him.

PART III:

JOB DISCRIMINATION AGAINST MUSLIMS IN THE WEST:

GERMANY

(ED NOTE:
While it is true that there is discrimination against Muslims in the job market in Germany and many other western countries, we as Muslims should also seriously explore what are we NOT doing at the present time that we COULD be doing as an individual and as a religious group to break the negative stereotypes that they may have against us).

One Third of Germans Prefer a “Germany without Islam”

(via EUROPEANS AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA)

11 Jul 2011

CAIRO – Well-qualified, ambitious and skilled German Muslims are complaining of growing discrimination against them in the job market, especially veiled women, who are taking the full brunt for their dress.

“Society is not open enough to let us work,” Erika Theissen, managing director of the Muslim Women’s Center for Encounters and Further Education (BFmF) in Cologne, told Deutsche Welle on Sunday, July 10.

Converting to Islam in the 1980s, she dons a carefully matched pastel blue headscarf to the rest of her outfit.

Noticing the changing work atmosphere in Germany, accompanied by exclusion of many Muslim women from work, Theissen established her BFmF center which employs over 50 Muslim women, some of them highly qualified.

In Dusseldorf, the North Rhine-Westphalian capital, she currently organizes a conference gathering about 80 people including scientists, politicians, activists and Muslim social workers to discuss discrimination against Muslim women in the workplace.

“People think the Muslim community doesn’t want Muslim women to work. But most Muslim women are not discriminated against by the Muslim community, but by society,” she added.

Theissen is not the only Muslim to face job market discrimination.

Collecting about 30 rejection letters, Ismahen Dabbach is a best example on the growing job discrimination in Germany.

“My name is Ismahen Dabbach, I am 26 years old, I was born in Germany and I am a trained office clerk. I am very flexible, independent and open to everything that carries me further forward in life,” the ambitious young woman used to say during job interviews. Yet, rejection was also the expected reply.

Dabbach, whose parents are Tunisians, feels that since she decided to wear hijab four months ago, her search for a job has become extremely difficult.

“They put you on a waiting list, then they invite you and tell you that they will call you, but after three days you get a rejection letter,” Dabbach asks.

“So you start asking yourself: did I make a mistake or is it the company’s fault?”

Germany has between 3.8 and 4.3 million Muslims, making up some 5 percent of the total 82 million population, according to government-commissioned studies.

Stereotyping

Social analysts agree that German Muslim, especially veiled women, have hardly any chance of getting a job.

Such a trend, according to Mario Peucker, a social scientist at the University of Melbourne, is apparent in medium-sized German companies which show clear anti-Muslim tendencies.

“Even if they don’t have personal resentments, they may think that their customers or their staff might have a negative image of Muslims and this becomes their reason for not employing Muslim men or women,” he says.

Germans have grown hostile to the Muslim presence recently, with a heated debate on the Muslim immigration into the country.

A recent poll by the Munster University found that Germans view Muslims more negatively than their European neighbors.

Germany’s daily Der Spiegel had warned last August that the country is becoming intolerant towards its Muslim minority.

According to a 2010 nationwide poll by the research institute Infratest-dimap, more than one third of the respondents would prefer “a Germany without Islam.”

Denouncing the growing prejudice, which a 2006 anti-discrimination law could not end, Peucker called for offering employers anonymous applications so they would not see a name or photo on the applicant’s resume.

But Erika Theissen thinks it’s not enough.

“I think the government must be a role model for those people who have the possibility to give jobs and then I hope, other people will think: ok, I can take a woman with a headscarf, it will not cause a big problem for my business,” she said.

Living the current tragedy, Dabbach only dreams of a normal eight-hour job in her home country Germany.

“I want to have a normal eight-hour-job, from eight to five, five days a week, where I can wear my headscarf, like an ordinary citizen,” she says.

To turn the dream into a reality, she started searching the internet for jobs offered by Muslim companies. She got a job outside Germany after only three days of search.

For this job, Dabbach, who lives in the western German town of Gütersloh, would move outside Germany.

“What should I do now?” Dabbach asked helplessly.

“I am at home in Germany, my family and friends are here. Should I just leave them? I am really torn.”

PART IV

FIGHTING INJUSTICE

(ED NOTE:

Muslims should be a leading global force to fight against injustice. Fighting injustice is mentioned both in Holy Quran and in hadith. Women who comprise half the world's population have historically and at the present time continue to face injustice in various ways. Prophet Mohamed (SAW) stated that "Women's rights are sacred". As Muslims we need to fight against injustice towards women and work for their betterment. Working towards improving their reproductive health and human rights is one of the many steps we could take as Muslims).

PART V

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS:
(www.rhrealitycheck.org)
July 19, 2011

Charlotte Metcalf wrote and produced this series of 12 short skits that demonstrate the violation of human rights, particularly reproductive rights, that millions of women continue to experience worldwide.

EDITORIAL COMMENTS ON ABOVE VIDEO:

Certain feminists have given up all hope about Muslims ever being genuinely concerned about women's rights and from their limited, skewed and biased sources of information, see ISLAM as an obstacle for women's rights. The moment they see a woman in hijab or niqab, instantly negative thoughts come to their mind. They see a fully clothed Muslim woman representing values that are essentially a threat to women's freedom and view them as backward.

On the other hand, certain Muslims have given up all hope that the typical Western woman could ever understand what true Islam really is.The moment they see a woman with miniskirt or in partially clothed dressing, instantly negative thoughts come to mind. They see the partially clothed western female as a threat to their supposedly maintaining a high moral ground and would take all possible efforts to prevent their Muslim female family members (in their view) be corrupted from those western females. They view feminists rights to de-cloth themselves in varying degrees as being nothing but a FODDER for men to gain free access to feast their eyes and further fuel their lusts. Such Muslims are not going to allow their own female family members to be such fodder to maximum the fantasies of men.

It is really sad that both of above two groups have a significantly negative view of each other. We had the opportunity to closely interact and know women from both the above groups. And we wanted to confirm that the practicing Muslim female is NOT an extremist. On the same token we want to emphasize that contrary to what many from non-western world may believe, the typical western women is NOT sexually permissive or a slut just because she is dressing in a different cultural style.

We argue that above extreme polarity on both sides of the moral spectrum is ultimately impairing the ability of all human beings both from the Muslim world and the western world to work on other major common issues such as for example, the ability to work together to totally eliminate FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION.

We urge sisters both from the Muslim world and the non-Muslim world to shift focus FROM their religious and cultural differences TO common goals and work towards helping millions of innocent women worldwide who have become victims mainly due to outdated brutal and vicious historical cultural values that have no place in the 21st century.

From above video, you will note that:

(a) "MILLIONS OF WOMEN ARE DENIED HEALTH CARE IN VAIN BECAUSE OF CULTURE AND RELIGION".

Pardon our ignorance, but we have not seen any text in the Holy Quran or hadith that forbids a female to get medical attention/treatment. On the contrary we would argue that it is anti-islamic act to prevent a woman from getting treatment. We need to be seriously thinking of how best we can seek help and support of our local Islamic leaders and Imams to work on weeding out the cancerous values harming our sisters in the name of CULTURE and RELIGION.


(b) "PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH COMPLICATIONS KILL 585,000 WOMEN EACH YEAR”. AVERAGING DEATH OF ONE WOMAN EACH AND EVERY SINGLE MINUTE.

Sometimes huge numbers in statistics essentially NUMBS us. Please note that in this case, it is NOT "US versus THEM". It is about WOMEN who are half the world's population. It is about women who are Muslims and non-Muslims. It is about women who die and exist no more to be there in the life of their new born infant. It is about fathers becoming widows and parents losing their daughters and brothers losing their sisters.

(c) "MORE THAN A MILLION GIRLS ARE FORCED INTO PROSTITUTION EACH YEAR".

When was the last time you attended a party or function involving a teenage girl or young female adult? By any chance, in the party or discussion, where you able to see the excitement in her or to understand her dreams, hopes and aspirations for her future ?

It is really sad that more than a million girls are forced into prostitution each year and essentially being not only sexually abused but in many cases physically and emotionally abused too. Unlike other girls who may have dreams of furthering their education and selecting a particular career, getting married, having families et.c. the lives of females in forced prostitution essentially is doomed. They LIVE to service the sexual needs of men.

Their individual human right to dignity, respect and a decent & independent life with various career and family choices is all but OVER. There are thousands of Muslim sisters who were innocently lured and trapped in this vice. We are sure that Muslims can do more to prevent if not at least reduce the numbers of victims from such terrible vice besides initiating aggressive efforts to assist in identifying, locating and with help of Government and police, freeing such sisters from the clutches of pimps.

(d) "OVER TWO MILLION GIRLS ARE GENITALLY MUTILATED EACH YEAR". AVERAGING ABOUT 6000 EACH AND EVERY SINGLE DAY.

There is no question that a significantly high percentage of above victims are our own Muslim sisters. What is truly shocking is that despite above permanent sexual mutilation of 6000 girls EVERY SINGLE DAY, "business is as usual". It's like nothing happened.

WE ASK - "WHY SUCH INDIFFERENCE?”

"WHY IS THIS NOT A PRIORITY FOR THE GOVERNMENT, ISLAMIC LEADERS AND IMAMS IN AREAS, where this barbaric practice is still continued?

THE MOST TROUBLING PART IS THAT ABOVE IMPORTANT ISSUES ARE NOT THE PRIORITY IN OUR GLOBAL UMMAH'S RADAR SCREEN. YOU CAN JUDGE THIS BY FOLLOWING THE PRIORITIES IN THE AGENDA OF MUSLIM GROUPS - WHETHER IT IS THE BIGGEST GLOBAL UMMAH ENTITY, SUCH AS OIC - ORGANISATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION (Association of 56 Islamic countries promoting Muslim solidarity in economic, SOCIAL, and political affairs) OR IT IS A SMALL MEETING HELD IN YOUR LOCAL MOSQUE OR SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION. OF COURSE WE NEVER GET TIRED OF REPEATING TIME AND AGAIN: "WE ARE ONE UMMAH".

UNFORTUNATELY, THERE MAY BE A GENERAL TENDENCY AMONGST US TO DEFER THE SOLUTION TO ABOVE PROBLEMS BY CREATING A FALSE HOPE THAT "SOMEBODY MAY BE WORKING OR WILL WORK ON RESOLVING SUCH PROBLEMS". OF COURSE WHEN THAT "SOMEBODY" MAY BE "NOBODY", THEN WE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISED THAT BASED ON ABOVE AVERAGE, EVEN JUST FOR TODAY AND FOR EVERY SINGLE ADDITIONAL DAY, THERE WILL BE SIX THOUSAND GIRLS, MAJORITY OF WHOM ARE MUSLIMS THAT HAVE BEEN SUBJUGATED TO SEVERE PAIN/TORTURE OF THEIR MOST INTIMATE BODY PART IN THE PROCESS OF FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION.

Now we are not even talking about the deaths OR some permanent medical conditions and many temporary medical and psychological complications that may have resulted from above extreme procedure BESIDES THE PERMANENT ELIMINATION OF THE SEXUAL PLEASURE CENTER.

WE ALSO KNOW THAT MAJORITY OF MUSLIMS ACROSS THE GLOBE HAVE THE BEST OF INTENTIONS FOR OTHER MUSLIMS, BUT IN MANY CASES, THEY DO NOT HAVE A PLATFORM AND A CLEAR ORGANIZATIONAL AND COORDINATED STRUCTURE TO TRANSLATE THEIR GOOD INTENTIONS TO HELP INTO PRACTICE.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ALREADY HELPING IN ALLEVIATING ABOVE PROBLEMS, (MAY ALLAH REWARD YOU), PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND THE NAME OF YOUR ORGANIZATION.

WE WOULD ALSO APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS OF WHAT CAN BE DONE THAT IS CURRENTLY NOT BEING DONE TO ASSIST OUR MUSLIM SISTERS WHO ARE VICTIMS OF ABOVE PROBLEMS ACROSS THE GLOBE? WE ARE ALSO COMPILING A GLOBAL DIRECTORY OF LEADERS AND RESOURCES THAT ARE INVOLVED IN ASSISTING THE VICTIMS OF ABOVE PROBLEMS IN THE GLOBAL MUSLIM COMMUNITY. IF YOU KNOW ONE OR ARE INVOLVED IN ONE SUCH ORGANIZATION, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO E-MAIL US AT amyusuf786@ymail.com.

PART VI

COULD MUSLIMS SPEARHEAD THE FIGHT AGAINST MISOGYNY

(ED NOTE:

Muslims must be on the forefront to fight against MISOGYNY. Muslims across the globe should begin seriously thinking and exploring new ways to fight against MISOGYNY)

According to sociologist Allan G. Johnson:
"misogyny is a cultural attitude of hatred for females because they are female." *

Johnson argues that:
"[Misogyny] is a central part of sexist prejudice and ideology and, as such, is an important basis for the oppression of females in male-dominated societies. Misogyny is manifested in many different ways, from jokes to pornography to violence to the self-contempt women may be taught to feel for their own bodies."

Michael Flood defines misogyny as the hatred of women, and notes:

"Though most common in men, misogyny also exists in and is practiced by women against other women or even themselves. Misogyny functions as an ideology or belief system that has accompanied patriarchal, or male-dominated societies for thousands of years and continues to place women in subordinate positions with limited access to power and decision making. *

Aristotle contended that women exist as natural deformities of imperfect males

Ever since, women in Western cultures have internalised their role as societal scapegoats, influenced in the twenty-first century by multimedia objectification of women with its culturally sanctioned self-loathing and fixations on plastic surgery, anorexia and bulimia."

* (www.wikipedia)

PART VII

Did We Ever Doubt the Continuing Presence of Misogyny & Ethnocentricism?
(www.rhrealitycheck.org)

July 29, 2011

Vanya Samokovareva and roommate Ralitsa Dzhambazova, two female students from Bulgaria, discovered the hidden cameras in their apartment and reported it to a local news station and the police. This perverted invasion into women's privacy - and advantage taken of foreign women, in particular - serves as evidence of the urgency with which our government needs to address all forms of discrimination against women, and the everyday infringements upon (and acceptance of these infringements upon) their human rights and freedom.

THE END