Blogs

The terrible Boston Marathon bombing instantly gives me bad jitters; here we go. Again. Lunatics perhaps, probably from a Salafist country in the Middle East bringing their deviant loco beliefs of killings and mayhem so very close to home. Or, it could be homegrown extremists, who bloody know? But I pray hard nevertheless, wishing the…

I love elderly people; they relate wonderful tales of yore. They are also mirrors, in whose eyes I see my reflection not too distant away; I am, after all, over the fifty hump and rapidly accelerating down. They can also be crabby and vicious at times, some of them. Take Mullah Mchungu for example, who…

Tanzania in general, the people of Dar es Sallam, worldwide Khoja Shias, but especially the Dar es Salaam Khoja community is struck with terrible calamity on March 29 2013 when a sixteen floor building under construction adjacent to the Khoja mosque complex comes tumbling down like a deck of cards. Thirty-six people lose lives that…

Dear Mr. President, Salutations and peace to you and your family. My name is Ali Yusufali; it may interest you I was born not too far from your father’s birthplace of Kenya, in Arusha, Tanzania, where I grew up and became an adult. Aspirations for a quality education, better economic opportunities and awe for the…

Oh. My. Gawd, you are such an uncool Dad! Why can’t you, like, be like other Dads? Exclaims my twelve-year-old daughter Maaha Zainab once more, rolling eyes to the heavens. I have heard her use this expression several times now, consequence of middle school peer influence obviously, but it never fails to irk me to…

    I sit at my desk, minding my own business, at peace with the world and, for a change, the world at peace with me. There are no bombs exploding down the street, no lunatics with Kalashnikovs wondering the street taking potshots at everything that moves, no delayed aircrafts with silly excuses of late incoming…

Most of today is a wait in anticipation of what is to come. Karachi streets are empty, young kids play cricket instead, on roads that are usually crammed with traffic and people. Rows and rows of shops and businesses are shuttered shut. I visit a protest rally near Mehfil e Khorasaan where women and men…

A trip to Pakistan is always a frustrating challenge certainly, but with intertwining interesting episodes that can leave me in tears or giggling incoherently. You may have read my earlier episodes of forays into this badbakh country, so I will spare you a detailed repeat of much that occurred during my most recent trip but…

February 10 was a very happy day, a satisfying day. CAI donor funded girls school at Phanderi Sadaat in UP, India was officially inaugurated. A year plus in the making, it is a beautiful modern building that will insha’Allah be an harbinger of a brighter future for the poor girls that will benefit from a…

Radical Muslims besiege a minority Muslim community in Sampang, East Java, Indonesia. One man is murdered, their homes burnt down and when they seek protection at a local stadium, food and water supplies are either cut off or severely restricted. Most Indonesian Muslims are very tolerant of beliefs between various sects. Jakarta, for example, is…

Continued from Trekking In Addis Ababa – Part One… We have caught the attention of a couple of ruffians however, who ask us for money; Alan refuses. They follow us for a distance, ignoring Alan’s request to be left alone; I get nervous, as we are in a desolate place. Alan flags down a passing…

I was fortunately blessed to go trekking in Ethiopia in July 2012. It was a wonderful trip, which I finally got down to writing recently. Perhaps you may enjoy this narrate? I stare at the screen and the email in unbelief; turd, I curse, then again, turd! This is the last thing I need, after…

We conclude the azaa of Abaa Abdi’Allah Hussein (A) recently, forty days of tribute to our heroes of Kerbala, Koofa and Syria, saviors of Islam and our hope for intercession on a day when no other intervention will be tolerated. An exceptional gift from Sayyeda Zainab (A) to rejuvenate our faith and seek nearness to…

I have known Sheykh Noor u Deen for about a year now, mainly through his lectures at Husseini Islamic Center here in Sanford, FL. A down to earth person, his lectures match my disposition; pertinent, useful, meat and potato issue driven and quite funny at times. I do wish other lecturers deal on issues that…