I am inclining towards calling my program with the children ’Brainiac Connections’.
After all, the brain is Allah’s best creation. The Universe is big, but the brain is big enough to encompass the universe! The brain, coupled with a conscience, is what defines humans, who thus become Allah’s noblest creation.
Why ‘connections’? Well, in this program we are trying to connect to:-
Our design
Our Designer
Our Book
Our surroundings – family, society, environment and universe.

The children are at the stage where they still haven’t lost touch with their primal nature and that fire that we are programmed with must be kept alive.
I have a little journal in which a truly original thought is written down by the kid who comes up with it. I am very picky about this. Very picky indeed. Only the very best, that everyone gets impressed with is allowed in. Absolutely no compromise here. And the kids love it. I have announced that this is the special gift that they are giving me.
A few quotes from this journal will illustrate my point.
9:128. “ The Prophet was kind and worryed” The story behind this connection is that one girl said that if your brother is careless and does not bother to do his homework, you should do it for him, so he won’t get into trouble. The others shouted him down because that way he won’t use his brain and that is not right. But it is really a Sunnah to worry about other people getting into trouble.
8:63. “Allah has put love in the hearts of the believers because they help togeather to mange the earth.” The idea is that humans are Allah’s Khalifas.
“I will not lie and if I forgot my homework or anything. Iwill tell the truth and take the punishment because it was my falt not my parents.” Individual responsibility?
They all sound very painfully pious and self-righteous, judging by these outpourings, but the one hour we have together, is very chaotic. There is a lot of giggling and some bathroom humor and any amount of bouncing around on the sofa etc. Just kids enjoying themselves and the best kind of fun is getting great ideas.

I have had this great opportunity just plonked into my lap recently.
Some 9-10 year-old kids from the neighborhood come in for some ‘serious’ discussion, once a week. We started with one large group, but it became unwieldy so we have spilt into two smaller groups and it is working out just great.
Tentatively, I have called it -
Feeling-good Time

Preconceptions:
Ø Children are humans.
Ø Humans are created in the best form (Surah Teen)
Ø They just have less experience then adults.
Ø They are very sensitive to insincerity and condescension.
Ø The system of religious education that has been prevalent for the last so many centuries has proved to be a failure.
Ø So we need to think outside the ‘establishment’ box. What it translates to is, we need to upend our list of priorities. Deal with the neglected ones first and the others which, so far have been paramount, should automatically drop into place.

Do’s:
Ø Establish a close relationship with Allah by focusing on how Nice He is to us. Gratitude and appreciation of every little thing that we experience goes a long way in building Trust and giving encouragement.
Ø Go straight to the Book for references. Let the child find the reference from the index and read the translation.
Ø One provocative question can get the thinking going. Then let the discussion takes it’s own course. It can go far a-field, but it will develop the skill for seeing connections. If you notice, the Quran follows the same pattern – jumping from topic to topic. I haven’t paid much attention to this so far, but I will now, Insha Allah.
Ø Start with Allah. Surah al-Fatihah mentions Rabb al Aalameen. We are still stuck on that, and by the look of things we can go on for a long time. Try to end every discussion with seeing how Allah takes care of us, and things in general. Get a view of the Grand Design and how it is geared to Tender Loving Care from Allah.
Ø Next we went on to the creation of Adam – Allah’s Khalifah. Just ram the concept down their throats straight off. Self-worth, individual empowerment, individual responsibility and individual accountability (otherwise known as the first pillar of Islam) will all fall into place.
Ø Check out some references about Believers and how they are defined.
Ø Avoid instruction as far as possible.
Ø Let the children provide the answers. You may give a hint or two to lead the discussion to where you want it to go.
Ø Get properly impressed, but only with a truly worthy or original idea. Share in the glow of deep satisfaction and happiness that comes from original thought.
Ø Keep the talk within the experience level of the children.

Don’ts:
Ø Do not talk down to the children; you will kill the free flow of ideas.
Ø Do not offer explanations. They must always come from the kids. They will never fail to surprise you.
Ø Don’t be in a hurry to finish with one topic so that you can go on to the next. This is a life-long journey.
If one child provides a gem of an idea, or sees a connection, or something resonates within him, it is his forever.

It has been several weeks now and the kids are still eager to come.

Question:
What lesson can Muslims learn from ‘Messopotamia’?
Answer:
Muslims should get rid of their own tyrants.
Both question and answer are very deep, and born of anguish at what we have become.

But, the next logical question is:
Why was tyranny allowed to fester in a ‘Muslim’ land for so many years?

Their Book tells them that they are expected to “enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.” Muslims claim monopoly on the formula that gives them individual empowerment, individual responsibility and individual accountability – otherwise known as (here it comes again) – the First Pillar of Islam.
The evil could have been ‘nipped in the bud’. And here’s another cliché – evil will prevail if good men do nothing – or words to that effect.

I wonder how many ‘Muslims’ did not vote in the last election which so effectively hamstrung a budding tyrant in the U.S.?

I wonder how many ‘Muslims’ participated in the protests against the war?

What do I really believe in and what do I want to do with my beliefs?

I would like to offer an overly simplistic view of the ‘conflict’ between Islam and science.

What is Science?
It is the study of the Universe, so that we can figure out how it is made and how it functions.

Why does a human study Science?
He is merely responding to the call of his primal nature. He is programmed to be curious, to explore and learn – to push his boundaries. Learning is his greatest joy. To see primal nature in action, we only need to observe a human when he is under three years of age – before his parents and his society have had time to crush his nature and distort his personality.

Why is a human so programmed?
He is designed to be the manager and caretaker of his world. A manager, worth his salt, must, of necessity, be knowledgeable about his territory, if he is to manage well.

History is witness to the fact that every community that acquired super-power status did so because of its insistence on basic research. Respond to the Divine Imperative of basic research and reap the benefits of the spin-offs. Then, use the technology according to the ground rules of individual empowerment, individual responsibility and individual accountability- otherwise known as the first pillar of Islam.

Muslims, too, were a super-power once upon a time, when they took the Book seriously. That was the time when Christian Europe was mired in the Dark Ages under the stranglehold of the ‘scholars’ of the Bible. The Christians had to break away from the Church and their ‘scripture’ before any kind of individual, independent, original thinking was possible – and see where it has brought them. The Muslims, on the other hand, gradually moved away from their Scripture and came under the stranglehold of their scholars. And see where this has brought them.

Weep. Weep tears of blood for what could have been…if only.

Here's a verse of the Quran which is sure to rock the Muslim male chauvinist boat!

2:223 states: "Your women are tilth unto you, so go into your tilth as you wish, and provide before hand for your souls. And be conscious of Allah and know that you are going to meet Him: and give glad tidings to those who believe."
Italics are mine.

The way I see it, there are two ways of looking at the word tilth.

• Plant your seed and estimate your prestige by the number of offspring you have. And when you are done with one piece of fertile land move on to the next till that also becomes fallow and so on and so on. The Saudi royal family, among others, comes to mind!

• Here's this farmer, with one piece of land, which he wishes to cultivate. He wants the best harvest, so he puts in endless hours ploughing and smoothening and fertilizing and planting and watering and weeding and hoeing and fertilizing some more and watering regularly. He is busy almost 24/7. He has to provide for every need, when it is needed, not when he happens to think about it.

Only then does the tilth produces a flourishing harvest that is a joy to behold. After putting in all this effort and tender loving care, with what heart will the farmer abandon his plot of land and move on to the next?
Can a "I love you" card on Valentine's Day match this for romance?

Remember I used the word 'need', not 'want'.

P.S.There is an authentic Hadith which states that a Muslim is allowed only three days of grieving for any loss. Except for a widow who should grieve for her husband, for the full 4 months and 10 days.
How many Muslim husbands deserve to be mourned this long? How many widows who do shed tears for fear of social stigma are not actually thinking "Good riddance to the big jerk"?
Is it any wonder this verse is never talked about in all the pious outpourings of the holy?

I have been silent for a long time. This site wouldn't let me post new blogs for some reason. And now, for some reason, I can! Ah well! That's life I suppose.
Lately I have been obsessing about this whole concept of Ummah!
The way I see it, Ummah can be defined as a group of like-minded people pursuing a single goal, - working towards a specific project.
Perhaps an example will help:
I need to arrange a community Iftar. So, I ask my friends if they would be interested in helping. Only those people will come forward who believe that this is a worthwhile project.
What happens now, is that

1. Every one has constructive ideas to make this thing a success.
2. No one complains about extra work.
3. Reaching a decision, after mutual consultation, is easy.
4. Every one goes along with the decision.
5. The project is completed in the best way possible.
6. Every one feels a sense of satisfaction.

Taken in this context, the 'Muslim Ummah' just does not exist these days. The so-called 'Ummah' doesn't meet any of the above conditions.

This concept has been designed for a group of people who have a single-minded devotion to fulfilling the role of Allah's Khalifa on earth.

Who are these people and where are they hiding?

Taking this further, who on God's green earth has the right handle on Islam?

If Islam is the best system there is, why aren't its practitioners in world leadership positions?

Why talk of Muslim Ummah and all Muslims are brothers and sisters.

Where are these Muslims?

Where are these Allah's Khalifas?

Where is the group of people who constitute the 'best community' extracted out of mankind?

Think about it.

Excerpt from the Book of Tao, #38:


"High Virtue is non-virtuous;
Therefore it has Virtue.
Low Virtue never frees itself from virtuousnessness;
Therefore it has no virtue.

High Virtue makes no fuss and has no private ends to serve;
Low Virtue not only fusses but has private ends to serve.

High Humanity fusses but has no private ends to serve;
High morality not only fusses but has private ends to serve.
High ceremony fusses but finds no response;
Then it tries to enforce itself with rolled-up sleeves.

Failing Tao, man resorts to virtue.
Failing Virtue, man resorts to humanity.
Failing humanity, man resorts to morality.
Failing morality, man resorts to ceremony."

This is such a beautiful expression of what we Muslims have become.