Blogs

One of my favorite TV shows is wildlife documentaries, especially about the wilderness of Africa, the continent I was born in. The brutal nature of the survival of the fittest is fascinating. I always root for the younger vulnerable underdog deer, zebra or wildebeest pursued by a mightier hungry cheetah, lion or leopard. My heartbeats…

The holy month of Ramadhan has arrived here, in Sanford, FL, one day behind most of the world. A crescent was supposedly sighted somewhere in Saudi Arabia a day earlier. Strange, no, whenever the astronautical probability of actually sighting a new moon is almost zero, Allah miraculously bestows a miracle (only for Ramadhan and Eid…

TamuTamu Since I’m not allowed to meet others, go for sit-down dinners with my family nor meet my friends at Masjid al Hayy here in Sanford because of the accursed Dudu Corona, I ask Allah to bless the soul of Alexander Graham Bell and use his brilliant invention to chat with my pals sometimes. One…

Since I do not have much to do during these trying days, I have the luxury of taking leisure naps. My favorite time is after zohr. I can be watching CNN berating our honorable President when deep slumber takes over. Yesterday, I had a fascinating dream. In this reverie, I meet Dudubhai (dudu means germ/insect…

I know I wrote about the coronavirus in my previous blog but still, I need to talk about this dudu again; its impact to all our lives is too monumental to be left alone. Imagine, it has about 25% of the world’s population under lockdown! By Allah, I’ll talk and gossip about it until it…

It is not funny, this coronavirus business, sitting on my shoulders like the angel of death, malak al-mawt. It is sapping my energy just keeping abreast of the rapidly changing and fast shrinking world that was so open and free to traverse not too long ago. Chic and prized cities of the world, known for…

It should probably be a sin to have so much fun and adventure in life… But with my travels for Comfort Aid International, there are no shortages of escapades. Alhamd’Allah. So, thus this Blog, on my recent travels through 5 African countries spanning Senegal, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. I hope you enjoy reading…

The Divided And Broken Khojas – 2020 was a time, in recent history, when seeking and holding public office was an honor and prestige. The primary motive was to serve, for the pleasure of Allah, of course. People jostled for a primetime audience at local jamaats, pitched their candidacy and the best man, generally, won.…

One sure way to experience the pain of abject poverty is to be in Sirsi, Uttar Pradesh, India in January. Sirsi is so removed from modern urban India, the ancient and overloaded power gridline works as efficiently as the national airline of India. The persistent power fluctuations make any heating appliance at the risk of…

Amina and Zulfiqar Alikhan from College Station, TX are some of the most strident supporters and well-wishers of Comfort Aid International. So when they requested that I take on their son Aabid with me to the next ‘safe’ CAI expedition, I had no qualms about it. I invited him to visit the Philippines with Sohail…

Unity Games – Dubai Dubai is bustling with humanity. Again. The balmy weather, spectacular New Year’s fireworks and the irresistible itch to splurge at the soopa pricey malls in this city is too much of a pull. I suppose. The hotel I usually stay near the airport costing around US$70/night has shot up to US$360/night…

Attitude Of Gratitude – Looking Death In The Eye I lost a close second-niece of mine, Salma, to lupus disease turned to cancer recently; she was not even 41 years old and a mother of two very young children. I had a strong bond of sorts with this particular niece – I have tons of…

It’s All About Paisa, Nai! The squeaky-clean Khoja musafarkhana in Najaf is empty; almost. Perhaps if the management opened it up to all zawaars it might get some traction? Especially since huquuq funds have been used to construct it? Huquuq as in everybody has a right to it? My past protests at this apparent inequity have been…

I am sicker than a dog and feel lousy with an annoying head cold, all the way from Orlando to JFK, Dubai and eventually Najaf, almost 24-hours later. Sitting, on the Dubai to Najaf flight, in the adjacent aisle, is an elderly Bohri guy sporting a flowing white beard; his wife and daughter in law…

WhatsApp Blues So I am holed up in Dubai for a week, in between projects because of the violence in Iraq. Both Sohail and I are supposed to travel to Nasiriyah, Iraq, to commission the drilling of a deep water well that’ll provide potable water to about 20,000 desperate people currently consuming contaminated water but…