DIY Izar Completed

Shareef’s izar is complete and he was very pleased with it. Insha’allah I’ll be even more pleased when he decides to wear it out so I can see it in action and get some feedback on it. I think I’ll try my next tailored izar project from scratch and even do a tutorial on this so sisters can make their husbands izars from old worn pants and left over material. It’s great way of re-using what you got in your sewing scratches and giving those worn garments more use. This project was fun too, I discovered that pants are very versatile garments and how much fun it was to do your thing.

“Kurayami nara kocchi no mon da”

(The darkness is my advantage.)

I often like to play a movie while Im sewing. Some may found this funny, but it helps break the mundaneness of sewing and naturally helps you take a break. I still be listening to the movie without watching it. I find an excellent samurai/yakuza movie series call: Zaitoichi.

The main character, Ichi-san, is a blind swordsman and masseur with a good, kind nature. He wonders the land in search of work and helping people along the way. Often for some reason, Ichi-san winds up in some situation that ends with alot of dead henchmen and their bosses regretting that they never crossed his path. Insha’allah you like samurai movies: this badboy would be great.

Anyhow, I do have a Japanese clothing project coming up soon and this movie have some great, realistic costumes. Im positive that my husband would not be too comfortable in a hakama, he sticks to his pants and izars. Me, on the other hand, would like a kimono & a michiyuki.

Back to the izar, after I cut the legs & crotch off the pants, I simply pinned the skirt material in place then when I got the look I wanted, stitched it in place. I added a flap over the front and it fastens down with heavy duty snaps covered in the same fabric as the skirt.

I stitched faux pockets over the real pockets to balance the back with the front. He can still use the real back pockets too.

Rethinking Devout

Assalaam waliekum and hello,

Well, for the last three months I have been telling my friends about my rousings on Youtube. Basically I confront the Islamaphobes about themselves and make them very angry. My friends think I spend too much time making people angry. My dearest almost mother said to me: “You’re getting too excited by this, Gail. ”

Once again, she was right. I was getting excited but not over just anything. I was getting excited over religion, Islam to be exact. Since Islam has became the new word of mystery in the USA, non-Muslims have begin to see that this religion or as I’m beginning to see, way of life, unfortunately merging into the lifestyles. Islam does affects the life decisions, goals, and lifestyles of the indivdual. If a non-Muslim asked me about my clothing, I would tell them why I wear what I wear because Allah SWT orders me, as a Muslim women to wear clothes like this.

This really blows their minds like: Wow, she is doing something because God told her to.

Me: Yeah, go figure. Who hasn’t?

I note the level of discomfort in my non-Muslim friends’ attitude when I explain to them my lifestyle. And how could I not talk about my beliefs, they are so intergrated into my life. I can’t just turn off being a Muslim whenever I wanted, that would be weird. How can I not get excited when I’m talking to my friends about Islam?

Sometimes I think they’re feeling that I’m becoming too “devout”. So far, as of Youtube Islamaphobe standards, the word “devout” carries a negative denotation when paired with Islam. They usually call a Muslim “devout” when the Muslim is correct and has knowledge of the issue at hand. I think it is a polite policially correct way of calling Muslims, terrorists. Now, in every other religion but Islam, “devout” is a good term for the person who is practicing it. But Islam, no.

Personally, I’m not “devout” because “devout” means devoted to religion or to the fulfillment of religious obligations. When “devout” comes to mind, I see people in constant worship, no worldly affairs. My life is not like that at all, I dont have to pull my religion out and take off my secularity for a while. My religion and worldly affairs are now interlocked.  And I got other things to do than constantly praying. I stop what I’m doing and pray but that does not mean I’m a “devout” Muslim. It means I’m a busy Muslim who’s religion has truly became a way of life.

Since when did a religion become a way of life?

The American Muslim in Islamic Wonderland

Hello or assalaam waleikum everyone, I have finally made it back to WordPress: I have DSL internet and I’m making dua’a that Allah SWT continues my internet. It rocks.

Now, lately my husband has been ranting about living overseas in Egypt, something about living like a king off of $600.00 dollars a year and being in a mostly Muslim population. I have been kind of open and kind to his dream yet it is getting old…real quick.

The reason why is b/c I have been overseas as an Afro-American non-Muslim and culture shock was not mentioned in the little handout they gave us on studying abroad in Italy. Its not easy being one of the few decently dressed women in the group and then you have to leave as soon as you start getting use to the place. Back to the present, I think that traveling all the way over to Egypt just to sit around people is not all that grand, especially when you could go to Hajj.

Yes, Hajj outweights Hijra because all Muslims are required to make Hajj at least once in their lives and if they can afford it. So why make a secondary issue a big priority when you havent done what is required of your faith? I was thinking too that alot of American Muslims are trapped in this hard sandwich of American culture vs Islamic deen. Most of this is expressed in frustration, isolation, and in this case: being disgruntle about living in the US as a Muslim. I can understand these feelings however, after being a Muslim for three years now, wearing niqab in public, struggling to learn about my religion, and dealing with a mostly Christian population in a small city; I would rather be a Muslim over here in the US then over there in the Muslim countries. 

It’s not because life is easier here or I have rights in the US. Its because I believe that American Muslims have a huge role in helping Muslims and people from all over the world with Islam. We say: “Hi, you can be American without compromising your deen.  And we can help you find a way do to so.” For the non-Muslims: “We are not going to take over your lifestyles or country however we have to correctly follow our faith first.”

When Allah SWT throws you dates, make mamouls. Make due with what you have instead of crying about what you could have. Islam is only as hard as you make it. An Islamic Wonderland is not going to help anyone if they cant even help themselves in their own homeland.

American Muslims have to start cracking the Islamic books and material to better ourselves instead of fanastizing about this beautiful Islamic Wonderland overseas where Muslims are going be ever so kind and their deens are ever so correct when really they too do pretty stupid and sometimes not Islamic things. And they too have let their cultures spill into their Islam and that is what the non-Muslims see instead of the majestic picture that Islam has for Mankind.

Zaynab–المحتوى

Alot has happened since Warner Robins, a vision of that empty beige room fades into my mind like the Adhan being called on my computer. So much room.
I have married and had a daughter, Zaynab. She is everything I’m not and more. A unique little girl. She meows and blinks at me. Sometimes she even manages to smile some.

Slowly finding other things to do

I have been increasing my knowledge of the Arabic alphabet. Last tonight, my Sister Eman give me this really cool website for learning the alphabet and reciting du’as, surahs, and much more.

http://www.quranicsciences.com/index.asp?visitormonid=916868

The job and the hijab 2

Today, I talked to my boss’s boss, the distrinct manager about wearing my hijab. I thought the whole matter was going to be some Lifetime meets Bollywood melodrama where I stood there in the parking lot of Burger King and speared this man with long speeches about spiritual courage and times of change.
Nope…not when one’s feet are hurting and both parties are very tired from a long work shift.
I simply looked him in the eyes and asked hime about Burger King policies or rules on workers wearing a hijab or anything like it. The “hijab” was an eye-opener itself. The distrinct manager’s eyes widen as if he found a hamburger in the bathroom or something. He even had a little lean back to his posture. I had to lean back myself to keep from giggling at his expression. It was simply priceless.
My boss quietly leans in to whisper,”It is not approved Burger King headgear(something like that).I sweetly ignored him and watched as the DM argeed about the hijab.
I nodded and replied, with great humor and understanding:
“There are other hijabs that are closer to the body. These hijabs are made for working Muslim women.”
Both of them were so surprised and relieved, that I had no choice but to giggle.
So hopefully I will have a black hijab for work and most importantly I will have enough eman to face wearing a hijab.

The job & the hijab

I have been mustering up the courage to wear my hijab to work. I have been thinking about for months on in.
I think really sucks how people would secretly discriminate someone based on their religion. I still want to wear my hijab to work. He is I know that there is more to the hijab than a head covering. I try to cover my head outside of work, I feel like I’m dressing up. I’m still adjusting to wearing hijab. Just recently, I have decided to start wearing my hijab because I was splitting work and my spiritual side. I tell people that I’m a Muslim yet out of being so different, I start to act like my co-worker. The hijab will help me remember who I am and what purpose I serve. I want to show that I’m not a hypocrite and that I’m not afraid to be a Muslim.

The need for prayer.

Asalaam.
One of my greater problems was the need for prayer: I simply do not pray when I need to. The act of prayer seems so strange and hollow to me. When I was young, things seemed to work out for me well, without prayer. I knew there was something up there watching out for me when things down here got hairy. As I grew up, my ego and my problems grew as well: it wanted to be the one in charge.
Things that upset me will eventually make me sick like my car and job. I feel that those things are under my control, I FIX MY CAR: it works better and I CHANGE MY JOB EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WANT: better job.
Then the duty of prayer as a Muslim come into play. Holy Batcave. Five times a day, I cannot even roll out of bed for Fajr. Mostly said in Arabic and carried out in a specific way, I’m just a clumsy scratchy record.
While I was writing this piece, something strange just occurred to me. Allah Subhana-wa-ta’Allah could have smashed my little ass a long time ago. Yet, He did not do it, I will never know why. And I do not want to know, it is not my place.
Perhaps I should pay my sincere to Him for all that He has done for me, insha’Allah.

Wasalaam.

Asalaam aleikum

Hello, everyone.
My name is Gail. I want to talk to Muslims from all walks of life.