A View on 'Muslim-Converts' et al ...

I made a presentation in Yola this weekend. It was an expression of my views about conversion and how people who embrace Islam may be treated. You will find the complete paper at my other site on the ssrn.com network. However, a few points may be interesting.

I believe managing converts is not an issue. I believe all the people who convert to Islam are Muslims and are obliged to act accordingly. I believe all Muslims owe each other the obligation of treating themselves equally. I know Allah loves those of the highest piety. May we all be alive to our responsibilities.

Christ-like, yes, ... that is what I said!

This morning something pleasant happened to me. I visited my eye doctor to collect my glasses and went through a very interesting encounter. My eye doctor engaged me in a serious discussion on the issue of religion. She was particularly impressed by something about me that made her impression of, her attitude and thinking about Muslims change. She asked me if Muslims believed in Hell and Paradise. I said, we did. She said, meeting me had made her realise that there are some Muslims that MAY go to Paradise. I asked her to explain. She was incoherent, seeing that she was really unable to specify the exact thing about me that changed her thinking about Muslims. May be if I explained the events leading to this morning, I may succeed in conveying my astonishment and pleasant surprise.

I started wearing prescription glasses in 2003. My first set was the only one I picked after a thorough medical examination. So, when the eye started trouble, I had to go and see an eye doctor. I walked into this private clinic and there she was! She examined me and made her prescription. She charged me and showed me a number of frames. I opted for a nondescript piece and made a comment to the effect that I was not interested in a frame for show. As I left the clinic that first day, she asked me my 'denomination' but before I answered, I noticed her hesitation and then she asked if I was a Muslim or a Christan. I said am a Muslim. End of discussion.

The cost of the replacement glasses was something I could afford to pay in two installments. So, after a few days, I was able to make the first installment. She said they were expecting me, and we joked about the possibility of my failing to show up after the examination. I was to return after three days, but I said I may not be able to do so unless I raised the balance. I failed to show up. A week after, I raised the balance, and this morning, I walked back into the eye clinic. I noticed she was reading her bible.

By this time, you expect I would know her name. I still don't know. Today I confirm she is a qualified eye doctor not just a technician. Her interest in me was wonderful. She told me that since she saw me and observed my actions, she told herself I must be a 'good' Muslim. She asked me why Muslims kill other people. She also asked if I believed in Jesus Christ. I told her Muslims do not kill people, but politicians who are Muslims may have political reasons to kill - as in the Twin Towers - but no Muslim kills as a religious belief. I said all Muslims believe in Isa (named Jesus Christ) as an article of faith. I told her any Muslim who does not believe in Jesus Christ is not a Muslim. She said I acted like a Christian. I said I was acting CHRIST-LIKE but I am not a Christan. All Muslims are Christ-like because they submit totally to the will of Allah (arabic name of the Creator of the Universe).

Yes, I told this Christan eye doctor that I am Christ-like, but not a Christian. She agreed I showed something that made her think that some Muslims MAY go to Paradise (after those who call themselves Christian?) because she never believed Muslims were good. She said I changed her thinking in this direction. So, I must live my life the way I do - so that it continues to change people's thinking about Muslims and Islam.

If ...!

'If' reminds me of a novel I read (or was it a movie that I saw?) several years ago. Whichever. It was a futuristic thing contempleting things that would happen that were contingent upon the happening of some other or one thing. It was a thoughtful thing, that novel (or movie).

Today, it is if Obama wins! Obama, the Democratic Presidential candidate in the US elections. Tomorrow. Nov. 4th 2008. Would Americans elect a BLACK President? Would they elect a man likely to have an ear for the ARABS (Muslims?)? How long would the romance last? If, ... yes, if Americans were to elect the first Black President, things will not be the same.

How would they change, ... or refuse to change?

Censorship & Kano: Where Rabo Derailed!

I read his rejoinder to a Leadership newspaper story, also published in the Leadership newspaper. He should not have bothered to write at all. His sentiments are misplaced. I think he was of the view that sympathy will follow. Oh dear, if only we are able to assert that any person, as an individual or in association with others, can force compliance to their views, we would be deviating from the non-compulsion doctrine in Islamic Jurisprudence. Allah never said we could compel compliance. He (SWT) asked us to call with wisdom. Yet, we could choose to do as we pleased when in authority to force compliance.

You should read Rabo's position. He even cited the Hays Code. He failed to say that the Code has since been out of use. He failed to indicate that a subsisting US Supreme Court decision (JOSEPH BURSTYN, Inc. v. WILSON et al.) has since made 'artistic works' in films covered by that country's first amendment in respect of the constitutionally protected freedom of speech.

Rabo should rethink. However, it would appear that the bulk of the convictions which the Kano Censorship Board has obtained at the Magistrates' Courts is on non-compliance to regulations. So, Kano artists, be up to it. Obey the regulations. Challenge those which are unconstitutional. We can do it. Yes we can (ha .. ha... ha).

Cloning, sex change, seed improvement: Which of these is creating?

A few minutes ago, I sent an SMS message to two of my colleagues. One, the amiable Director of Public Affairs of the institution where I serve and the other, head of our web team. I wrote: 'oh, ... changing night to day is IMPOSSIBLE not even with all the electricity in the world ... abi? I did not expect immediate response. I should be lucky to be left alone, Monday, because these are people I know would require my elaboration.

You see, we were having a chat at the office and someone said 'nothing is impossible' or words to that effect. Then I responded: somethings are not possible; things like changing a man into a woman or a woman into a man. They said no. My attention was drawn to the sex changing going on every where around the globe. I conceded but insisted that it was not possible to do a sex change unless the person exhibited signs conducive for the change. They disagreed. Now, that is where the discussion stopped. I expect to return to it when my SMS is read. But I maintain the position that nothing that does not exist can caused into existence by any human being.

Does the cloning of Benny(?) the Sheep amount to creating a sheep? Does an improved seedling mean a seed had been created? Does a sex change mean that a woman or a man has been created? Creation is an impossibility for man. Man cannot create another being. Man can only 'improve' an existing being. Not even the best of them can last. Do you remember the life span of the cloned sheep? It is not for ethical reasons alone that the American government has refused government funding for these kinds of research. It simply is not possible.

So, there are somethings that are not possible.

So, the Pressident may die? Kulli nafsin zaikatul maut!

Two very unrelated(?) events occurred within the space of two weeks. The Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria, an Ambassador and one time Presidential running-mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingebe was dismissed (sorry, replaced) and Channels Television, born of versatile tv journalist John Momoh, known as friend of the system, was asked off the airwaves. The television station lost its licence (it is said suspended is a better word) to the command of the National Broadcasting Commission. These two events are indeed related. Here is how.

Do you remember those days the Nigerian President was out of the country receiving medical attention? It became a sin to contemplate the demise of the no.1 helmsman. Yes, no one was to think the President may die. It is not because he is an immortal, but because, like the case of the North Korean Presdietn, Kim Il Jong, there were too many issues a vacuum in the leadership of the country would create. No one wanted to be 'taken by surprise' (really?). How then do we plan for death? Like General Sani Abacha? No, not really, you see, death will come when it will come, for it is the only constant in all humanity. Death is the only certainty.

Why would a broadcast station speculate that a President that is sick may resign? That must be a reason that is inconsistent with a broadcast licence. One of the provisions of the licences for broadcasting in Nigeria is 'not to cause public disturbances' which a claim like the one broadcast by Channels could cause. Certainly, no one can stop death - for every soul shall have a taste of death (kulli nafsin zaikathal maut).

I think, death is an equalizer. My uncle thinks otherwise. That is for another day. For now, be rest assured that no President will die before his time. Likewise, no President will resign before the time appointed for the end of his 'tenured leadership' as decreed (destined) by Allah expires. We should bear that in mind and remain confident. Allahu Akbar!

Usool at-Tafseer & Izraliyat: Matters that should arise.

Dear Uztaz Abubakar Assadiq. I missed the edition of your segment on 'Sahur Live' broadcast immediately after the one in which you cautioned about taking in, hook, line and sinker, all that we read in some tafseer. On that edition, you failed to mention which of the available and accessible tafseers you were making reference to.

Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, in his book, 'Usool at-Tafseer', the Methodology of Qur'anic Explanation mentions the tafsir (or footnotes) contained in Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation of the Qur'an as full of izraliyat. He was particularly critical of some explanatory notes because they tended to give weight to jewish traditional folklores which may taint the Qur'anic revelations. He praised other translations, especially that of Ibn Kathir. So, ya Uztaz, why did you hold your peace?

I am concerned your silence may create more problems than it would solve. But, if because I missed the subsequent edition of 'Sahur live' on NTA2 and missed your explanation, forgive me. Oh, by the way, I think your response to the views expressed about your wife reading the Qur'an on the programme was too harsh. Have you lost sight of the temperament of the Rasul (SAW) when faced with adversity? You have to realise that you are no longer a private person (so your wife cannot be a private person - and may Allah continue to reward you for the sacrifice you are making) and so have to be patient. No amount of stressing 'non-compliance' will stop the criticisms. What I think you should do is find subtle ways of making your point. Allah (SWT) knows your intentions. May He reward you and members of your family with aljanna firdaus.

Please uztaz, television is a personal medium. Be kind. Speak kindly and nicely. Those who disagree with you will not refuse to see your reason. You have Allah (SWT) to account to and not any human being. But please be kind.

Birthdays and the name of my child!

This afternoon, my very kind hearted wife of over fourteen years reminded me that it was our son's twelfth birth day. I had totally forgotten. It was not that it mattered either way - to remember or forget - there usually are no celebrations of this kind in our house. But the reminder called my attention to several issues that woke me up. I momentarily went into reverse and recalled those early days of our marriage and the struggle to have the child we eventually named AbdulNasir.

For the first two years of this blissful marriage, my wife and I had wished for a child. Her first pregnancy was aborted (inevitable abortion was the first diagnosis, and indeed a malaria induced aborting resulted) and she went into a long and painful melancholy. It was traumatic, those two years. Our gynaecologist did not give us any good news. We were told that she was not likely to conceive and deliver, unaided. That increased her melancholy. I was distraught. However, she took in and eleven months after the first abortion, AbdulNasir was born, 12th September, 1996. He is twelve years old today. His immediate elder brother, AldulKarim (from a previous marriage) was fourteen years old in January.

The name AbdulNasir sounded 'funny'. A few of our friends insisted that we should call him Mohammed Nasir and not AbdulNasir. We disagreed. We were confortable calling him a servant of the owner of success (our understanding of the name 'Nasir') and made him accept and live it. You see, we so named him as a sign of the success of getting a child unaided, which was the prognosis we were given on the event of his mother's earlier aborted pregnancy. She has succeeded. It was only natural that we celebrated.

In the course of time, we came across the book, 'Ubudllah' by Ibn Taymiyya. It was a material that changed our orientation. That we have to accept our position, in total submission to the will of Allah, as His servants and act in that position in all that we did, was indeed refreshing and exhilarating. The satisfaction of receiving those insights was overwhelming ! This may be one of the reasons we have Al-Amin, AbdulSalam, Abdullah, AbdulQadir, AbdulWalid and AbdulHamid. We also have Habsatu, Hashiya and Rahima. Allah (SWT) has blessed us greatly.

Science is indisputable. Allah (SWT) is the creator of all that science studies. If Allah (SWT) gives, He could give in contradiction to human scientific evidence. The birth of Isa (AS) is more than a good example. We remember the birth day of AbdulNasir in acknowledgement of the Grace of Allah (SWT) and our total submission to His will. We are Ubudullah!

AbdulRazak Yahaya Haipang is (cerainly) my Neighbour!

Several years ago, the Izalatul Bidi'a Wa ikamatus-Sunnan (IBWS) seemingly had a problem within its ranks. That year, the amiable AbdulRazak Haipang, previously seen as firebrand da'i, was not included in the main list of scholars going out on tafsir assignment that ramadan. From all available reports, Abdulrazak took the decision of the council of IBWS in good faith. In Yola, the Adamawa State capital that year, it was a mixed bag.

The action of not sending Abdulrzak out to Yola, as was presumed customary due to his previous impressive outings in Yola, was viewed as an affront and indeed a clear confirmation that some people had influenced the organisation to omit the scholar because the then Adamawa State government was not comfortable with his style of tafsir. In fact, it was even quietly insinuated that the Emirate Council was uncomfortable with Abdulrazak because he mentioned the poor taste which a private school created by using the Lamido's name and yet, it would appear, deliberately OMITTING to provide a place of worship for Muslim students of the school. Proprietors of the Aliyu Mustapha International School, Luggere, Jimeta-Yola were reportedly not amused. So, it was natural that the Emirate Council would also feel uncomfortable.

Anyway, AbdulRazak came to Yola, not under the auspices of the IBWS, but by the grace of God and the tenacity of the Islamic Development Centre, Yola. During his tafsir that year, he said (in hausa) words to the effect that it was haram to 'love' an unbeliever - ('haramun ne musulmi ya kaunaci arne!). Wow! The ordinary response would be yes, of course! But, that is true. That is what and how it should be. But, without intending to challenge the credentials of brother Abdulrazak, there is this amiable lady on 'Sahur Live' broadcast by NTA2, Abuja who seems to think it is not haram, but obligatory, as a sunna of the Prophet Mohammad (SAW). She cites hadith that support her, espcially the one in which the Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said Angel Jibril transmitted Allah's instructions to honour and give dues to the neighbour insistently that he (the Prophet) thought the neighbour would be included among his heirs. She explained that neighbourhood is not limited to any particular place, persons or relationships. I love her explanation better.

My cousins are not Muslims. Even though Allah asked that we do not pray for people we know are lost as unbelievers (after they are dead - cite the relationship of Abu Talib and the Prophet (SAW), I have not read or heared convincing evidence to support the position AbdulRazak expounded that year in Yola. I am sure I can wish that my non-Muslim cousins become Muslims before they died. If I have that wish, how would I fit into AbdulRazak's exterpolation? Later, I was to discover that the venom in his tafisir that year was due to the nature of his father' murder! AbdulRazak now lives in Gwagwalada, FCT, Abuja.

Often, it is not the message that is a problem, it is most times the medium by which the message is transmitted that creates problems. In Yola, there are very few hausa people, speakers, yes, but indigenous hausa people who understand the langauge well and are able to diffentiate between 'so' and 'kauna' are few indeed. Certainly, my kilba kindred would use the words interchangeably. During the life of the Prophet (SAW), he lived with non-Muslims harmoniously. The Madina Constitution show how each person maintained his or her rights in that Islamic State. Do we have any reason to refuse to abide by this tradition?

That year, I did not buy any tapes of AbdulRazak's tafsir for fear my cousins may think I accept this position should they hear this tafsir.

Hijab, Khimar & Passionate Brothers

The issue was how corporate she should dress to be 'Islamically' acceptable. His idea is to have her comply completely with the Prophetic tradition which says the only part of a woman's body that should be visible to the public is only (this) the palm and (this) the face. Yet, he is comfortable to claim dharura in his dealings with other women who show over sixty percent of their body as enticement or confirmation of their beauty. Yes, he lives in a society that is mixed and the only way he thinks she should spite the others is claim a heritage - an Islamic heritage openly and unambiguously. Alhamdulillah! Brother is angry because they ventured to ask that 'we got our priorities right.'

I think we should get our priorities in order. My dear brother was reacting to Madina Dauda (married to Nadabo of FRCN Kaduna; reporting for the Voice of America Hausa Service) when she invited Dr. (Mrs) Bugaje to offer an opinion on the best answer to demands for compliance to corporate dressing on Muslim girls and women by some organisations in Nigeria. Both of these working women (Mrs Bugaje - a medical doctor (surgeon) and Madina - a journalist) hold the view that a particular outfit which covered every part of the body without being too 'flowing' is acceptable. Madina wore a good example. Mairo Bugaje wore a wrapper outfit and a neat headgear. Incidentally, Dr. Mairo is active in the Federation of Muslim Women of Nigeria, FOMWAN. Really, brother was angry that these 'educated women' should make this assertion and presume to reach the conclusion that it was time we got our priorities right and deal with other issues than dwell on HIJAB and/or KHIMAR.

One of the issues, I think, which Mairo and Madina thought we should worry about was how journalists, Muslims, could contribute to the fight against corruption in Nigeria. The occasion at which this interesting encounter took place was the Ramadan seminar organised by the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria Abuja Chapter. With former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Rd. Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais as chairman, the seminar sought to proffer suggestions for the involvement of Muslim journalists in this campaign. Journalists where asked to see the profession as a challenge to stand up for Islam. Everybody listened.

One man who had every body's ear was former member of the House of Representatives, 2003-2007(?), (Hon.) Dr. Datti Baba Ahmed. It is not just what he said that stood him out but also what I perceive he actually represents. His comments, nonetheless, sufficiently contradicted themselves to cause me to ponder. Unlike his father, he gave in to the system and won an election. Out of office, he was unable to meet the demands of the system. He knew this. His anecdotal comments on the response of his constituents to his gifts during the Ramadan underscored how each of us gives in to the corrupt tendencies which we are claiming to want to fight. Is there really corruption in this country. I am proud to say that I remember the Tudun Wada residence of Baba Ahmed in Zaria. Some thirty-five years ago, I had to ride past the house to reach my grandfather's house in that ancient town of Zaria. Tudun Wada was a beautiful place. Knowing this family, let me say Dr. Datti did not live up to Baba Ahmed's standards by his 'obligatory gift' of Ramadan materials to his 'ungrateful constituents'. Or so I think.

Dr. Datti listed what he said he had and was willing to give to his constituents and how they advised him to go to Abuja and do 'whatever' it took to get more in order not to disgrace them. This simply indicates that they expected him to give more. He must have been doing so - I mean giving substantially (which is not wrong, unless you assume it is part of the political culture of patronage in Nigeria) to those in need (or maybe it is to those he needs since that is the political lingo). We are in trouble. Why are we saying there is corruption in Nigeria?

Journalists, who according to Abubakar Jijiwa (Director General, Voice of Nigeria, VON), take envelops should stop. That will be the day. Maybe Alhaji Jijiwa is aware of how to deal with the 'barbecue reporters' in the United States of America. I recall Ananpoor emphatically saying CNN was not catered for by Obama on his celebrity style France outing. Yes, we are a long way coming.

While it is time Muslims got their priorities right in respect of Hijab and Khimar, we should also ask Muslims to get their priorities right and shun corruption. Only the individual can fight himself. Do we emulate the Prophet Mohammad (SAW) or ....?

Loosing a smile, or what?

Real or imagined, there are not many things Nigerians laugh or even smile about. You must look to the stress they cause themselves to go through daily. You do not have to come to Abuja or Lagos to see how tensed up they are. Visit any 'public service' town anywhere in the country and you have the picture. That means visit any local government or state headquarters and be dumbfounded!

Have you ever noticed how aggressive Nigerians are within their own shores? These are the only people I know who think 'fastness' is the same thing as intelligence. They make you feel you are wrong for being slow, if and when slow and steady is what the situtation demands; and wrong when you go fast if going fast is in response to the consition at hand. Nigerians will cause you pain if you agree that there are rules that should be followed in any situation. They would create new rules, all to their individual advantage. These are a people who think they survive because 'God loves them.' You remember FunmiIyanda's blog? Oh dear me! Look it up. You will see and feel what I am talking about. She has drive, but what is it with the b**ls**t all through? The nature of the potential available in this great country can only be other's envey. We do not have to lend a hand towards the 'disgrace' and 'messing up' of our motherland.

Islam: Making the distinction betweem me and we.

Somehow, nothing may make me feel you are bashing me. Sometimes, I ask what causes your fear. Often I realise you misunderstand me. Your rationalizaton is honest, even though limited in its perception and perspective. You delibrately make believe that yours is the only 'right' way. You refuse to agree that there are some other absolutes, even when insisting the absolute you accept is to reject an absolute. I do not fear knowing I defer from those you call them. Me, I am not part of your they, I do not form part of a we collective. I am me, nontheless.

I understand why you may dislike me. I am a teetotler. Is that an English word? If it means you may not make profit out of me, then that is what I mean. To be otherwise means I allow you relieve me of my hard earned income. I refuse. I refuse your interest loaded financial system. I refuse your unwholesome foods. I refuse to display more than I would ordinarily display. I wear a beared. I know your fear. You are not responsible for it. You were meant to grow into it. That is the only way you may hate me. Yet, before he departed, he muigrated and lived within a more diverse populaion, just like you are propagating. Yet, his teachings are the things you hate me for, because there is no profit in my life style for you.

I remain me, yours sincerely.

Ossetia or what? How far Georgia

I discover I no longer fear reading Nigeriaworld.Com. With all its virtuperative content, I am confident it only reflects the freedom which many take for granted. It is the freedom to express your opinions that makes the world go round - including the Nigeriworld.Com. However, how much of self determination do the Georgians have today? being as it is that Russia has successfully stepped in and divided the country in two (15/08/08). The fact is that there is much more than meets the eye.

The intercession of France (and several European countries after) is simply a planned action. What a Russain invasion claiming Ossetia portends is anyone's guess. My guess is that the story will soon be told of how this action is the reason for the remaking of the Caucasses. That is the aim. It is not merely the objective of Russia. It is the objective of Europe. It is the objective of the United States of America. And dear Africa ... it is the sound of the approaching invasion. Beware soul brother.

Nuhu Ribadu et al

Finally, nemesis has caught up with Ribadu. But I am not impressed by the actors. Why do we have to wait for another administration to 'demote' the anti-corruption tsar? This is a sad and uncomplimentary commentary on the nature of government and government functions in Nigeria. This country seems to dwell in the 'personality cult' kind of leadership.

While it is not bad to have a charismatic leader, it is bad to insist that we cannot challenge any such leader when we see him going wrong. Or is it because we are indeed responsible for the advice that produces the policy reflected in the action? We make the monsters that we later come to fight. We are our own enemies. Yes, this is probably the only country that hates itself. It is not the 'God's Own Country' but it is the country that produces for that country: Remember the Okwesilizes, the .... of the dollar salary structure? Yes, we know how to arrive. So why should I be bothered that Ribadu is demoted, two levels below? From the rank of Assistant Inspector General (back) to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police! Wow.

Should government be run like this? Should we 'cheat' to defend. Defend and cheat? Should we lose ourselves to find our course? Should I cry for a tsar?

The Virtures of Selfishness (2)!

I have not left the issue yet. I am not done. Though I have not looked up the dictionary meaning of selfishness, I hold the acquired emotional connotation that makes any 'selfish' act bad. I agree, to some point, that some acts could be bad if done for interests that create difficulties for others. But I do not call that selfishness. I call it greed or gluttony or animosity or hate: all acts done in furtherance of ill and malicious thought. Banish that thought!

My selfishness is to want you to understand me. I will take whatever step is necessary to make you know me, hear me, see me, talk to me - understand me. You may come to appreciate me. That way I would have reached and gained what I wanted. I, selfishly, would have achieved something dear to my heart. That is my selfishness.

You know, I pray that what I do does not hurt you. That is not my aim. I aim instead to have you understand my reason(s) so that you will understand where I am coming from. Remember I am not going very far. No matter the distance, the journey is short and it is not because you are in charge of the roadmap. Check your map and see. How many road signs have you missed? My world may not be like yours, but we inhabit the same surface. We do not own it. We cannot own it. Can we share it? Here is the place where we must all be selfish.

If you assume you must have it all, you are not selfish. You are something else. Does that make sense? I hope not.

August is here. My family, oh my!

There is something about having family. You take them all: stock and barrel. Yes, there are some things that must cause you to worry. Others that will make you go wow, how did I get myself in this situation? You did not. I did not. We have to make the best of it. Yet there is no compulsion in any action. Even doing the right thing once in a while is not compulsory. You have a choice. You will always have a choice.

Have you ever asked yourself why you are doing the things you do? Think the way you think? React the way you rect to any situation? Long windy questions. Full airbags. Make no sense. Hi, wait, but making sense of nonsense is living. You should sort yourself out of any situation you find yourself in. That is the spirit. My, oh my. This month promises to be something else.

I hope we don't end up not enjoying the Chine Olympics!

Who did you say I am?

Here is what. I think I have started to realise who I am. Note my reflections seeking me or myself. Really, if psychologists want to make a meal of analysing and profiling, I am concerned with how I feel within my environment. Do you realise that where you were born (an accident of history) really helps in determining who you are and who people think you are? The other day I was a visitor at Professor An-Na'im's site and waited through a webcast(?)! Wow! I saw this man speak of himself as a Sudanese on account of his being dressed 'peculiarly' within the environment of his presentation. You see, he was speaking to an 'all American audience' . He had a wide flowing dress with a large headgear, particular to the Sudanese male dressing. He was indeed typically Sudanese. Yet, did he have say he needed that identity? Maybe, he did not want to be mistaken for a 'libralised fundamentalist!

The idea is this: The Lord created us and dispersed us all round the surface of the earth. He made us different. Black, 'white', hispanic (?), indian (...) and what have you (or you know what). All so we may know and identify one another. How should we relate to this? Why should I bother seeking to signify my identity? A muslim is (should be) a muslim anywhere on the surface of the earth. An-Na'im only needed to make the point that he is a muslim, peeriod. Is a Sudanese muslim different from an American muslim?

I have found my identity. Thanks.

Funmi Iyanda: Discarding a Course!

Somehow I felt deflated reading Iyanda's blog this afternoon. Here is a woman who has shown some promise and will not allow some percieved pressures to defeat her. I hate to think it is a love thing - or maybe the obasence of it. But, whatever it is, Funmi has put so much into making her personality that allowing something small called fatigue to set in now is quite discomforting. I know she will reconsider and not yeild to the 'fucking fabulous' feeling of dispondence to change her prolific orientgation. Come on girl, there are people waiting on you to shine.

Here is hoping the Iyanda we all know will come up 'running' even if our packaged water will be missing.

Look up. There is someone there.

Me or Myself: Searching for My Identity

I am a Nigerian. I am a northerner, which means I am a person indigenous to a community in northern Nigeria. I speak the hausa language very fluently. In fact I studied hausa langauge in college, so I write the hausa langauge using the english alphabets well. I do not write hausa smoothly in ajami script. Ajami script uses the arabic alphabets. In my country, I have acquired a name which is not my own. I am generally called 'a hausa man.'

The tag 'hausa man' is because I am a muslim. I practice the Islamic religion. I am trying very hard to live my life according to the dictates of the Qur'an and the Sunna, which means I hold tenaciously to Shari'a. Yet, I belong to a family of dialects within a tribal affinity known as Kilba in the Hong local government area of Adamawa State in North Eastern Nigeria. How am I a 'hausa man?'

I'm I myself or not? Should I be me, whose identity is a convinience for historians? I am looking for my identity. I am not a hausa man. I live in northern Nigeria and speak the language well. Who should I be? Me or Myself?

Obama's vanity or America's hypocricy?

So I read this piece in the Washington Post on the vanities of Democratic hopeful Barack Obama and I wondered: Is that not the hallmark of American psychology? Is that not what America represents for all the rest of the world. Why should a columnist list the 'oddities' in the raising profile of a 'good' political personality like BArack Obama and conclude that the lawyer politician should tell the people who he thinks he is? I am confused.

My confusion does not come from not actually knowing Obama for the short space of his ascention to prominence; it does come from my continued apprehension of the tools employed by the American press to deal with their subjects. This is a man seemingly in tune with the aspirations of the people, whose image as a Muslim lover is daily cristicised because America is a christain country with good christain values; here is a man who places himself as a change agent, yet would quickly distance himself from anybody whose opinions differ from the main stream American psychology as the 'best of the best' of God's own people; Obama is arctypical America, yet his desire to show himself as such is now being criticised. Maybe, the man should have waited to be president.

In the event he is elected (certainly, the majority would have indicated they love him), the likes of Charles K would reshape their attitute. They may be forced to appreciate the fact that America is ably portrayed by Obama. If his actions amount to vanity, print USA in all the spaces that Obama appear and read the story to yourself. You have the picture. That is the image that comes across every day.

Nine to one, Obama will not be elected the next President of the United States of Americ. It will not be because he is not qualified; it will be because he represents the type of single mindedness which the illusive American establishment resents and which the media extols daily, but would readily throw away as soon as the economic lifeline(s) appear to be strained. The media are all America; America grows and swells upon establishment doctrines.

Obama may be vain. But so is the United States of America. Two of a kind. May the romance live long. Howeve ... !

The Virtue of Selfishness (1)

Next to something you love is something you like. Is it possible then that you may not like what you love? Is it possible, maybe probable that you may dislike (i.e. not like) what you love? I think very few of us think to make the distinction between those things or those persons we love and those things or those persons that we think we like and those that we ascribe the emotion of loving love. We are often forced to assume that the two words, love and like, mean the same thing. They may have and in some people convey the same or similar meanings, or convy the same or similar emotions, but they are cetainly not the one and the same. You may like and not love. You may love and not like. Only discerning people hold this as the truth and nothing but the truth.

Consider this: Your spouse likes you. How often does he say he loves you? Don't bother to count. His love is limited to the thing he likes about you. You know this is the truth. You know he probably likes your face; your backside; your hair or the way your face looks. He likes your company because he enjoys the time you have together (and those you spend together). He has to make you feel special so that you make him feel comfortable. Yes, his selfishness is the reason you have him where you want him. Believe me, you do not want to change him into a selfless being. Encourage his selfishness, because in so doing you comfortably and conviniently disguise your own selfishness.

I love to be selfish. You should. Otherwise, how would you bring yourself to do those menial jobs you call homekeeping? You know there is a reward in it. From whom? Your loving husband of course. Is he not to show kindness and compassion towards you? Does he not say he loves you even though he means that he likes how you look after him (and the house and kids)?

Think selfish. Act selfish. We need more of it in the world. America needs to protect its selfish interests (including compelling compliance with its own notion of democracy) to maintain its status as the only superpower in the world.

There is virtue in selfishness!

The Virtue of Selfishness

It is because I need this read that I wrote. It is because you need reading material that you came. You and I have our reasons for doing what we do. We are selfish. We are not selfless, because selflessness means you are without self. How could you be without self?

Think about it: Unless you were really selfish, you would not have had a direction. You may allow yourself wait on providence to lift and drag you along. Providence does not condone indulence even if it was gracious. Yes, I mean your idleness and waiting on destiny's child to lead the way is not productive; it defeats ingenuity, driving to the pits any semblance of productivity. Should you then, perchance consider productivity, think selfishly; be selfish. That is what made the likes of Bill Gates of this world.

Think about it.

Obama: The African in Him

Tomorrow, it is speculated, the erstwhile rival of Barack Obama, presumptive Democratic Party Nominee for the 2008 presidential election in the United States, former first lady Hilary Clinton will end her campaign. Whatever that means, I don't know. I want to believe she will be putting a stop to further spending and rethorical speech making. I think it is time. I think it is time for everyone, especially those of us in Africa, to begin searching our souls to understand the implications of an Obama candidacy and maybe, an Obama presidency of the 'greatest country' on earth. We already have enough material to ponder on.

We must recall that Obama is the son of a Kenyan father. He has been to Africa, but has said categorically that he is NOT A MUSLIM. He needed to say that. What with the trouble his Pastor caused him along the way and his soft spot for Hamaz et al. This son of an African father has really learnt the spicing up of the American dream. Those of us who refuse to dream may just have to ask of what benefit is an Obama candidacy and or presidency of America to us.

They say it is going to be historic. The first AFRICAN AMERICAN to be the candidate of a leading political party in America. The first. Yes. But what is leading about the Democratic Party. The number of supporters or amount of money they play with? Obama may be black, but he certainly is not African and no African nation, including Kenya, should expect Obama to win and be in office 'for the 2016 olympics?' Now, America would not be America. How many of you have read THE MAN by Leon Uris? Or was it ....!

There is Africa about Obama. Africa is not in him. Africa will never be with him. Africans must realise that whatever Bankole says on Africa World Tonight, that radio/tv show, is only Havard wishful thinking. The indoctrination of the American 'we are the world' machine lives on.