I Said

Tags

Beauty, Heart, Life, Love, Relationship, Sufi's, World

I said,

‘Thou art harsh, like such a one.’

‘Know,’ he replied,

‘That I am harsh for good, not from rancor and spite.

Whoever enters saying, ‘Tis I,’

I smite him on the brow;

For this is the shrine of Love,

O fool! it is not a sheep cote!

Rub thine eyes,

and behold the image of the heart.’

…

Maualana Jalaudin Rumi (ra)

Being A Jasmine is A Struggle

Tags

Beauty, Education, Heart, Humor, Life, Love, Women, World

“Arab, huh…that’s pretty exotic!”

“Are you sure you’re Arab? You don’t look Arab…”

Um, white folks, you may have forgotten, but you colonized the shit out of the Middle East (still kinda do). We come in all different shapes and sizes.

You ALWAYS get “randomly selected” for extra screening by the TSA.

Pulling an old white woman aside for extra screening doesn’t pardon your racism.

Who is this diet you speak of?

Food is our first love. Mensaf. All day, err day bruh!

You feel obliged to give a disclaimer when you start dating someone new.

I’m sure it’s a lovely restaurant but it’s in my uncle’s neighborhood. Lets go somewhere else…perhaps another city?

“Oh that’s interesting that you go to school. Your family is ok with it?”

When you bring friends home you have to give them a mini orientation about your family’s unusual…rituals.

Baba, can you please stop yelling at the TV, you’re scaring Tiffany!

People assume you’re Muslim by default…

NEWS FLASH: We’re not all Muslim! We’re Christians, Jews, Atheists, and Beliebers. Get it straight.

Your siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, their spouses, and offspring have the capacity to populate an entire village.

As an Arab girl you get categorized into one of two groups, you’re either a Haifa:

Or a Nancy.

When your grandmother calls – you answer reluctantly.

Hey Teta, I just got a new job!

“If you loved me you’d get married, yalla…I’m going to die soon!”

We share an unspoken language with other Arab women.

A three second gaze can translate to: Yeah we should go soon, I’m down for pizza after. The score is 4-1. They say it’s going to rain tomorrow. Can I borrow that top? Of course I recorded Love & Hip Hop Atlanta.

Your parents typically have nothing nice to say about you…unless it’s to other people.

“My daughter had a full scholarship to study abroad and now she works at the top firm in the state.”

During your college years you had the luxury of using the library as a cover for just about everything.

I hope my mom isn’t reading this.

“Girl, why are you so conservative?”

It’s called class.

You get called awiya for speaking up.

Brains, beauty, and sass. BOOM bitch!

Western media has fooled the world into thinking we’re oppressed.

Don’t believe everything you read, except this post…everything I wrote has been scientifically proven*

*This post has not been reviewed by any scientist

When your aunt tells you there’s an ‘3arees’, you’re secretly lightweight curious.

He doesn’t sound like a complete loser…All right, I’m listening.

But after you meet said 3arees you feel the need to pay your aunt a visit

Every birthday some jerk-off relative has to suggest that you’re ‘expired’.

“You’re running out of eggs…When I was your age, I already had five kids.”

Don’t you have a cliff to drive off of?

You give people a simpler way of pronouncing your name but they insist on pronouncing it the ‘ethnic way’.

“Speak in Arabic…it sounds so sexy!”

ye3lan youm eli shoftak fi.

“Sooo how do you feel about America?”

That’s like asking us how do we feel about pie. We love pie. Who doesn’t love pie?! End of discussion.

When you attend weddings, you’re hit with waves of “you’re next!”

At any given moment a stranger will approach you and ask if you’re blah blah’s daughter

“I remember you when you were this little!!”

You must feel honored.

When you were younger, going out used to be more agonizing than going to the DMV.

“I don’t know if you can go out. Ask your dad, ma khasne.”

“So when are you going to show me some belly dancing moves?”

You, sir, are out of pocket.

“My friend is Arab — maybe you know them!”

Don’t assume we know all Arabs…although I probably do.

Being asked our opinion on the Arab Spring, Palestine/Israel conflict, Iraq War…

Do you have 17 hours to spare? It’s not exactly small talk.

You take advantage of people’s lack of knowledge of the Middle East and tell people you’re somebody important whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Because what the fuck do they know?

Your mom has tricked you into revealing secret information when reading your fortune in cup of coffee.

Shit.

But at the end of the day, we have our habibis and our hummus and we wouldn’t trade them for the world!

,,,

http://www.buzzfeed.com/samaraburahma/31-things-only-arab-girls-understand-snmr

Simply Think!

Tags

Civilisation, democracy, Education, History, Human Rights, World

Cost We Are Paying,

You can’t liberate the FREE.

 

The Legendary Robin Williams R.I.P.

Tags

Death, Films, Heart, Legend, Life, Peace, World

NEVER say GOODBYE

Because saying Goodbye

Means giving Away,

and Going Away means

Forgetting…

…

Left behind the legacy of films…

,,,

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RIP Robin Williams

Tags

Death, Life, Peace, World

…

R.I.P. American actor Robin Williams dead at 63 in apparent suicide. Oscar Award-winning‪ American‬ ‪actor‬ Robin Williams has been found ‪dead‬ at his ‪California‬ home in what the Marin County Sheriff’s Department says was a ‪suicide‬. He was 63.

Israel is A Nation of Nazis

Tags

Civilisation, democracy, Education, Human Rights, Palestine, Power, World

 

We Are All Gaza

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Israel is is a War Criminal

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Just Digging

Tags

Happiness, Humorous, Life, Love, Relationship, World

Have a great weekend all of you guys….

I dig,

you dig,

we dig,

he digs,

she digs,

they dig.

It’s not a beautiful poem,

but it’s very deep.

 

 

RIP Maya Angelou

Tags

Beauty, Life, Love, Poetry, Women, World

RIP #MayaAngelou, the American poet and author, died at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Wednesday. She was 86.

 

Her son, Guy B Johnson, confirmed the news in a statement. He said: “Her family is extremely grateful that her ascension was not belabored by a loss of acuity or comprehension.

“She lived a life as a teacher, activist, artist and human being. She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace. The family is appreciative of the time we had with her and we know that she is looking down upon us with love.”

Johnson said Angelou “passed quietly in her home” sometime before 8am on Wednesday.

Bill Clinton, at whose inauguration Angelou read her On the Pulse of the Morning, said in a statement: “America has lost a national treasure, and Hillary and I a beloved friend.”

Angelou’s failing health was reported as recently as Tuesday, when she canceled an appearance honoring her with a Beacon of Life Award because of “health reasons”. The ceremony was part of the 2014 MLB Beacon Award Luncheon, in Houston, Texas, part of Major League Baseball’s Civil Rights Games.

Last month, forced to cancel an appearance at a library in Arkansas, she wrote: “An unexpected ailment put me into the hospital. I will be getting better and the time will come when I can receive another invitation from my state and you will recognize me for I shall be the tall Black lady smiling. I ask you to please keep me in your thoughts, in your conversation and in your prayers.”

Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson, in St Louis, Missouri, in 1928. She described in an NPR interview how her brother’s lisp turned Marguerite into Maya.

Share your story: What did Maya Angelou mean to you?
To celebrate the life of one of America’s most influential poets, we’re asking you to tell us how you’ll remember her. Were you lucky enough to meet Angelou? Have a favorite quote? Share your story with us and we’ll feature select contributions on the Guardian

Contribute
She survived several personal trials: she was a child of the depression, grew up in the segregated south, survived a childhood rape, gave birth as a teenager, and was, at one time, a prostitute.

She wrote wrote seven autobiographies, including the 1969 memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and was a playwright, director, actor, singer, songwriter and novelist.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was an indictment of the racial discrimination she experienced during her childhood. “If growing up is painful for the southern black girl,” she wrote, “being aware of her displacement is the rust on the razor that threatens the throat. It is an unnecessary insult.”

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has had a wide appeal, particularly to younger female readers and continues to appear on school and university reading lists in the US and the UK.

In 1993, she read On the Pulse of the Morning at President Clinton’s first inauguration, a performance that made the poem a bestseller. The poem celebrates the diversity of ethnic groups in the US, and calls on the nation to leave behind cynicism and look forward to a new pride in itself, and a new dawn for the country.

Clinton on Wednesday said he would “always be grateful for her electrifying reading … and even more for all the years of friendship that followed.”

Angelou was a long-time Clinton supporter. One month before his inauguration, she told the New York Times: “Since the election, I have found it easier to wake up in the morning,” and “there seems to be a promise in the air.”

And her loyalty to Hillary Clinton has been steadfast, even as Barack Obama campaigned to be America’s first black president.

“I made up my mind 15 years ago that if she ever ran for office I’d be on her wagon. My only difficulty with Senator Obama is that I believe in going out with who I went in with,” she told the Guardian.

Actors, writers, directors, activists and politicians shared thankful and mournful notes in response to Angelou’s death.

JK Rowling called her “utterly amazing”; Lena Dunham thanked Angelou for “your power, your politics, your poetry. We need you more than ever.”

Angelou had lived in North Carolina since the early 1980s, when she became a professor at Wake Forest University, a private liberal arts college. A statement from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem called Angelou “a national treasure whose life and teachings inspired millions around the world”.

The mayor of Winston-Salem, Allen Joines, said the town would probably remember Angelou best for her commitment to health and theatre.

She supported the founder of the National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, and eventually became its first chairperson in 1989. In 2012, the Maya Angelou Women’s Health and Wellness Center opened in the city. A street in Winston-Salem is named after Angelou.

Despite her many accomplishments, the mayor said small moments seemed to touch the poet.

In April 2008, the town threw Angelou an 80th birthday party. Despite entertainers and speakers present at the party, the mayor said, “The thing that seemed to touch her the most was a group of little kids.”

She’s Too Busy

Tags

Beauty, Heart, Islam, Love, Mother, Relationship, Sufi's, World

To My Mother

The #Mother is the only person

that forgets to #Pray 

for herself

because she’s too busy praying

for her #Children.

 

Love Will Touch Your Heart

Tags

Beauty, Heart, Love, Relationship, Sufi's, World

To Love at all is to be vulnerable…

C S Lewis