Islam, Women and Liberation

I'm really not sure where to start with this, but lately so-called "feminist" groups or 'rad-fem' (for a more colloquial term) groups have been protesting against the oppression of women in the Islamic world, or in other words, The Middle East and North Africa. Now, what the problem here is not protesting against oppression of Muslim women, but rather those feminist groups consisting of NON-Muslim women speaking over us, and dictating what is oppressive, without seeking our opinions on the subject.

I could post pictures from these protests, but I'd rather let you see for yourself. Just search "FEMEN protests", or "Topless Jihad day". Now, what the issue here is what they're protesting about. As an Arab Muslim, I do admit there being forms of oppression against women but this is NOT because of Islam, but the same cispatriachal system in the Western World, as well as it being a cultural problem. However, what their problem is they class Muslim women wearing hijabs and such as "oppression". Trust me, if Islam did oppress women, I would not be Muslim.

Yes, Sharia Law is sometimes harsh against women but do keep in mind that because of the cispatriachal system, Sharia law is misinterpreted. Islam gives a woman her rights. Islam gave women their rights, way before the Western World did. Islam is pro-choice, but abortion is still illegal in many countries. Actually, there's a surah in the Qur'an called "Al-Nisaa" which means "the women", but I don't see any of the Bible books named after women? Even Maryam (Mary) has her own surah in the Qur'an, and Jesus is just a prophet. Islam gives women the highest status.

What these NON-Muslims are essentially out to do is "liberate" Muslim women. No, thanks. We can liberate ourselves, and believe me, no white women can speak for me, for who I am, and what I believe. As well as how I live my life. Islam liberates me as a women. Also, how the hell is protesting topless going to liberate me as a Muslim women in any way? This neo-colonial feminism is very problematic. Believe me, if you believed in freedom for women, then you would allow them the freedom to wear whatever they want, and make the choices they want. If you believed in the freedom of women, then you would be out there protesting abortion being illegal, or the hijab ban in countries like France etc. Not targeting Islam, or Muslim women as a means of so-called "liberation" from their own "male-dominated, oppressive culture"

This is also applicable to men in general. Muslim, and non-Muslim. We do not want you to liberate us, whether it be through going to war to save brown women from "evil Islamist groups", or telling a Muslim women how to act. We can act for ourselves. We're well aware. They do not represent us.

Thanks to these Muslim[ah]'s for speaking out against it.

For extra reading, click here [1] [2], here and here.

Soundwave!

Oh my God, SOUNDWAVE WAS AMAZING.

I am aching all over. I got sunburnt, and got rashes between my legs but it was so worth it.

I first went to see The Blackout and they were pretty good, wondered around for a bit then went to see The wonder Years. I got pushed into the pit, and and ended up on the edge of a circle pit. That was mental. They were really good. Once they finished, I went to see Deaf Havana. They were decent. However I kinda knew none of their songs so I got bored, and left to get lunch. I sat down, and ate. Then I went to see Billy Talent and that was good. Saw them from the grand stands. Their crowd was so huge! I waited for sum 41 but they took forever to set up, so I went to see OMAM. I really was keen to see sum 41 though. OMAM were amazing, and they put on an amazing show! However I left early to get to ATL. I found out though that OMAM played Second and Sebring and Austin ripped his shirt off. Austin is really cute irl. So I regretted leaving because ATL didn’t start til a bit late too because apparently Sleeping With Sirens took a while to set up. So yeah ATL was amazing! And they were hilarious! Jack came out into the crowd. If only I was in the mosh. Alex apparently also kissed my friend on the cheek. They started with my favourite song too which is Damned if I do ya. After ATL I went to see Paramore. However, due to flashflooding, Paramore and Garbage’s trucks both got held up. However they didnt tell us that til after Cypress Hill finished, so I saw a bit of them. After Cypress Hill, I went looking for my friend and she told me to come to Linkin Park so I went there, saw a bit of them. Left. Sat down for a bit because my feet were hurting. After Linkin, I saw my other friends, and met up with my other friends and went and saw Blink! Oh my God, Blink had the most amazing set! And they had such a crazy light show! They played really good songs, and they played 3 of my favourites! Always, I miss you, and Carousel. Then they finished with Family Reunion hahah. Then I stayed for Offspring who played from 8:45 - 9:45 and they were really good. However I didn’t watch them on the stage, I watched them in the screen so I could get a good spot for Paramore. Garbage didnt end up playing and I was so keen to see them. I was going to go see Motion city Soundtrack, but it was night and no point leaving to go see them just to hear them play for 25 minutes and then come back and end up at the back of the crowd for Paramore. Paramore was last act of the day. SW got extended an extra hour. They were most definitely the highlight. Unfortunately I didn’t catch Jeremy’s pick or get up on stage with Hayley but the show was amazing, and I was singing as loud as I can! And it was my first paramore show! I don’t know why I waited that long to see them, and I’ll definitely go to their headlining show the next time they are here. They played all the good songs, and I heard Now live omg! Their set got reduced by 10 minutes though which sucked because they could’ve played 2 full songs in that time. I’m so glad I got to hear The Only Exception and Decode because I never thought they’d play those. Anyway I took heaps of photos.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to meet anyone because I came late, at about 11:30, so all the tickets for the bands I wanted to meet got sold out which were pretty much the popular bands like ATL etc.

Then I went home, and today I got the day off school due to being in pain however I had such a good time!

The Harry Fear Talk Tour - 10.02.13

(I was meant to post this like two weeks ago, but I forgot)

So, I had the pleasure of seeing Harry Fear, Sophie McNeill and Sara Saleh talk about the ongoing atrocities in Palestine. I had such a good time, and it was really interesting.

Sara and Sophie captivated me the most with their personal experiences and talking about their recent trips to Palestine. Sara delivered a very raw, powerful and emotion presentation while Sophie engaged us with her person experiences, some made us laugh, some made us cry. Harry of course presented us with a brilliant report on Gaza, and presented us with the true facts. They first began the event by reading two verses from the Quran.

Firstly, Harry did talk about Gaza, and he said that 50% of the children suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which was quite sad. He even showed us a video of a small Palestinian girl playing as normal, until she hears the sound the explosion, she reacts, and the adults try to provide her with psychological relief, as Harry put it, however there was no one to provide psychological relief to the adults. He called Gaza a “prison playground.” He also talked about many of the resistance of ‘terrorists’ groups in Gaza, not just Hamas. (I love how he did the inverted commas thing with his fingers everytime he said the word terrorists haha) but yes he talked about how during Cast Lead, there was a police academy called the ‘Arafat Police Academy’, and how Israel planned to bomb it, and there was a UN school nearby and the bombs went off just as the children were leaving school. He also said many of the people in the police academy were graduates, and I can assume they were just possibly around 19/20 years old then? Harry also said how anybody associated with Hamas, Israel considers terrorists. Harry also talked about the al-Dalou family massacre, in which 17 people killed just because that was the home of a resistance fighter. It kinda shows how aggressive Israel is, as now they had begun targeting the homes of resistance fighters, and not police stations or anything like that. He also mentioned, how just briefly after the 8-day war, his phone got stolen and he had no one report it to, as literally the police stations were all destroyed. Harry also mentioned he had a friend who only left gaza twice, and that was twenty years ago. That goes to show how the population in Gaza is imprisoned. Unfortunately Harry ran out of time to speak, but he managed to get in as much information as he could.

Sophie (Australian journalist/radio/TV presenter) then told us about her recent trip back from Palestine, mainly from Jerusalem and Gaza. One thing that caught my ear though was about how she said there were CIA agents sitting in the bars and hotels in West Jerusalem while journalists risked their life to go to Gaza. She also talked how driving from Jerusalem to the Erez crossing, then entering Gaza, you can tell the difference. “Tel Aviv looks like Miami, or some other Australian city” but in Gaza, you can see pot holes and stuff, it was horrible. She then talked about how the elections and how Gaza gets collectively punished for electing Hamas. In fact, she stated that not everyone supports Hamas, yet Israel collectively punishes them. She also talked about her friend Raid, about he’d be like your “normal Aussie bloke”, which shows not everyone indeed supports Hamas. She also said about how members of his family got massacred, and that he knew English so he drove a taxi around trying to earn money for his family, and to rebuild his house which he had to rebuild twice. She also talked about him that one day the Pope was coming to Jerusalem, and he had to interview Christians in Gaza. What he didn’t know though is that the Pope was catholic and Christians in Gaza were not catholic, it kinda goes to show how cut off from the world they are, thanks to the siege. In fact Harry before stated that most Gazans did not own electronics. Sophie also talked about her friend (who I unfortunately didnt catch his name when she said it) who runs the Gaza Youth Break Out account, and one day they were sitting in a cafe together, and she asked him about all his followers and friends from different countries, and how he feels when he sees his friends, his age from different countries and their lives. He just remained silent and there were tears rolling down his eyes. That made me sad. She also spoke about how they went to inspect the tunnels, and they were smuggling in things like basic humanitarian supplies. That’s how awful this siege is.

Then, Sara spoke. Sara is an activist working for Amnesty Intl. Australia. Sara’s speech was really powerful and empowering and it’s inspired me to join an NGO when I leave school, hopefully. She also said that she was recently in Palestine, however they were not successful into getting into Gaza. She said some really good important quotes. “1 million olive trees have been uprooted since 1967”, and I think this is quite ironic, as they have been uprooted by the same people who “made the desert bloom”. She also said a quote that goes “we were born in this camps, we spent our life in these camps, we’re going to die in these camps, what’s meant to be temporary has become permanent, and everything permanent, temporary, and my entire life here has been just visiting” by a Palestinian refugee living in Lebanon. She also talked about the relentless humiliation at checkpoints, and how whether the taxi driver is a Shlomo or an Ahmad. If its a Shlomo, they let him pass, but if its an Ahmad, he’ll be stopped, and made sure his life is made a living hell. Another quote was “That’s my village, I’ve never seen it please let me go, please let me go, that’s my village, I need to see it” this was by an activist who was with her on the trip. Her village was in the space of modern day Israel. Sara’s speech overall was emotional, and unlike the others, she did not use pictures. I might post a video. “We don’t want your despair, we don’t want your money, we just want you to tell it to the world” was another good quote, and infact the Palestinian answer to the conflict.

There was also a Q&A session which I didn’t record however it was really good. Harry said that he thinks he will see an end to the conflict in his life time. Sara also said something really good about BDS which I didn’t record. However she said it was strategic, and not anti-Semitic. We also need to rethink how we approach BDS. Harry also said we need to keep the blood off our hands by boycotting places that support Israel. Sara also started that the answer to Palestinian liberation was not statehood. Does statehood solve the three Palestinian problems which are occupation, apartheid and inalienable right of return? Which I agree with. Somebody also asked a question about the Jewish lobby which I think they meant the Zionist lobby, in which I was going to ask something related to it. I was going to something like “there is a Jewish lobby that is pro-Palestine, Independent Australian Jewish Voices, do you think we should use these groups as promoting Palestinian-Jewish unity” or something along the lines as that but there was no time.

Anyway, it was a really good event, and I hope to go to more events like this in the future.

I unfortunately didn’t get to meet Harry though or anyone for that matter, but Harry did RT me and favourite my tweet on twitter, and Sara favourited it too which is good enough for me ha.

Identity

Identity. What is identity?

Identity is an integral part of who you are. It may be or may not be important, depending on the circumstances. Of course, your identity may range from something like your name, to your ethnicity or to even what you look like.

Identity just doesn't notify us of who you are or where you came from, but it makes you who you are. It is part of the reason you are the person you are today.

It's quite funny actually because in year 12 (and if you're in year 12; you should know) we study 'Belonging'. And part of Belonging has a lot to do with identity, and whether it contributes to you belonging or not. Mainly religious / national-ethnic identity.

Anyhow it made me think of how I identify personally. Am I just an Arab Muslim? Palestinian Muslim? Palestinian-Australian Muslim? Just Palestinian? Just an Arab?

Well we've established the facts on the ground that I'm a Palestinian Arab Muslim. Australian however is debatable. I'm not Australian (or white) ethnically. I was born here, so I'm automatically Australian by nationality, however is that how I personally choose to identify?

I don't reject my Palestinian or Arab identity because those are part of who I am, but at the same time I don't forget them to become Australian just to "fit in." I don't reject my Australian identity either because I grew up here, I have certain western ways of living, or thinking because of my surroundings even if I was brought up in a non-western manner. But that's okay because there's always that in between. So therefore I have no problem of identifying as a Palestinian-Australian (Muslim). Not too western, not too eastern.

Even talking about identity politics, no one is allowed to define it for you. To tell you whether your ethnic group actually exists or not, or those that tell you that your background isn't important anymore once you come or are born here. Or even those that tell you to go back to your own country because you are not "Australian enough" for them. Speaking about politics, it's why I choose to identify what I identify as politically. Where I come from, who I am. I choose left-wing because it adheres to my needs, and my beliefs.

Some people remember where they came from, some people forget and rather try to become like the other. Identity is crucial. It always going to be a tag on the back of yourself. Not encouraging stereotypes of course, but you understand where I am heading. I guess at the end of the day, it helps shape who you are, and whatnot.

But the greatest thing about your identity though? No one else gets to define it for you.

New Beginnings

So, here we are, in a post-false apocalyptic world in 2013.

It's the new year, with the same old, I suppose. Just another year. However a new year brings new beginnings. New goals. New achievements, and new friends.

My journey starts here, today as I embark on my final year of high school, and all the challenges it brings with it, as well as achievements.

I think every year changes me as a person, but I have a feeling this year will the most, just because I think I'll learn a great deal. This year also has good things coming, already planned like I'm seeing my favourite bands in February, and I turn 18 in October. As well as finishing high school in September and hopefully achieving a good ATAR in December. Although the ATAR bit is not already pre-determined, but I guess hard work is.

In terms of New Years resolutions, I really do not have any for this year. Simply, because I never stick to them. I think the best way to live is to live spontaneously and to expect the unexpected. This is why I'll just go with the flow.

I suppose there's always also a highlight to every year too. As well as the ups and downs. There's going to be ups and downs with every year.

So, with that said, I hope you all have a great new year, and make the most of it.

History - Our world view and how it has changed.

In Extension History, we've been learning about What is History, and more importantly, who are the historians? Taking a look into the historians, we've taken a look at one of the first historians in the world, a Greek man by the name of Herodotus (c. 500 BCE), which I urge you to look up.

Herodotus wanted to preserve the past, and more importantly; ask questions how certain things came to happen. More specifically, the Greek-Persian conflict. Two empires at battle for land expansion.

And so it led me to think about how our world view was, and how it is today, In a nutshell, how it's changed.  It's just slightly strange to think back then, they did not have the knowledge we do today. Of course, maybe back then they were more hardworking which required them to use brainpower seeming as they did not have technology to help them like we do today. But back then, that world was all they knew. It's not known whether if they knew there was more to be discovered or not, but they did not know certain people existed, for a fact, as you think about it, no one knew until they were discovered by European powers. (Aborigines in Australia, Native American Indians, Mayans, Aztecs, and Incas in the Americas, and so on. Many new people also evolved, many new nationalities evolved with interracial breeding and such, but that probably swerves towards our modern time with immigration etc.) Many things such as events, materialistic things, even countries as well as certain peoples (see above) did not exist back then.

Today we have an array of new things, such as new concepts, new history and so on. Today we have technology, we have transport technology, electronic technology, gaming technology, war technology and so on. Of course you're going to get things like the internet with these technologies. We have new history, such as the holocaust, WWI, WWII, colonisation of certain countries and so on. We have new concepts such as religion and science. Well religion came shortly after that time, but religion is a constantly changing thing so it's fair to say it's new.

But with all that we have today, are the answers we have not enough? Of course not. We still think there's more to be discovered, with all that's been discovered. We're still searching for answers. With new history comes new unanswered questions. Both old and new unanswered questions. Some of us still ask why ancient history events happened, and what profound effect has it had on the modern world? I believe history usually happens through a chain of events, not necessarily always but it does impact certain things. A modern world event that lead to another event could be September 11, for example, which lead to the Iraq war. If that had been prevented, many lives would've been preserved today. Not as many refugee camps would've established and so on.

History is an interesting thing when you think about it. It's one thing in your life that's always going to be relevant. Everyone makes history. This blogpost will be a part of my history once published, as well as a part of this blog's history unless deleted, but not really as it'll still remain as something that once happened i.e. this blog. History is certainly something that leads us to ask: Who are we? Why are we the way we are today? and Where did we come from? It poses really good questions towards life, unless you're someone that's just like I am as I am, and I couldn't care less about where I came from.

So yes, I hope this post has truly made you think, and maybe it shed some light on our past.

Year 12

So this post was due a little while back, but I'm finally writing it!

It's been a few weeks since I've started, and man I'm already freaking out. I have 1 exam and 2 assignments due all in the same week - in 2 weeks. Excuse me while I freak out again. I envy those who do not have to worry about getting ATAR as they are not going to uni because they don't have to work as hard, all they have to make sure to do is pass.

Yes, it sucks our assessments go towards HSC, and that they determine your ranking which initially could affect your mark.  I will work hard and get through this year. I just need to spend less time on the internet, and less time procrastinating.

If this is me now worrying and such, then imagine me in the middle of the year. Crap. But yes I shall get through this.

What do I want to do, you ask?

Well I want to do Journalism at UTS and for that you need an ATAR of 91.6 (as I recall), and you need get high band 5's and 6's for that, so now you understand my dilemma. Some people already have their live sorted out, so they're lucky. If I don't get that, I'll probably go to a different uni, then transfer later.

Maths, Legal Studies and English are probably what I am most worried about, particularly because for Maths and English, we're getting new teachers halfway through the year (for maternity reasons). Legal just has too much content, and I'm very afraid I won't remember it all.

Insha'Allah (God willing) I get a good ATAR though.

I also can't wait til school and HSC is over, I mean, I'm going to miss school and my friends, but freedom will finally be here, also considering that I will be 18 then too.I get to spend all the time on the internet, go out as much as I want, watch ALL the tv shows, and spend a lot of time with my friends (if I have any by then) without feeling guilty, and by guilty, I mean as in procrastination. It's also four months of holidays before uni. Imagine how much you can do in that time. I'm also hoping to get a job by then too.

So yeah, year 12, please go slow but quick at the same time.

Stupid Usernames

All my posts have been pretty serious and/or quite personal so there's no harm in having a rant/comical post. This post is all about... you guessed it! Stupid usernames! This post is also inspired by Romy.

Here are the kinds of stupid usernames (I hate) that you find online.

(P.s. these are made up examples, but you are guaranteed to find these on sites like YouTube, Twitter, and possibly Tumblr etc.)

A lot of numbers:
E.g. Kowth53647625264

The ILoveCelebrity names:
E.g. Ilovehazzastyles69

The band usernames:
By this I don't mean lyric puns or band name puns because they're actually good if funny (like my old tumblr URL 'putawentz') I mean the band name completed by your name type of usernames.
E.g. AllTimeAmy
AndreaMeAtSix
OfMiceAndStacey etc.

They're not necessarily cringeworthy because they're bad, they're cringeworthy because its too common and everybody does it.

The fandom name name:
E.g. HustlerrrKelly
Dedicatedbelieber35

There are probably more out there, but these are just a few to begin with.

Death

Death is such a frightening concept. You think about someone being there, and then... all of a sudden... they're not.

I guess everything that has a beginning must have an end, and usually we return to where we came from. We came from the Earth, thus we return back to it. (Or if you're religious, like I am, you could say we return to God, our creator)

But death. It just comes unexpectedly. I have a few theories to do with death, but how accurate are they? They are of no relevance anyway.

Look after yourself. Be healthy. Be careful in what you do. Most of all, be good. Be remembered for something.

On Friday came the horrible news of a girl in our year and her passing. Obviously because it had been a Friday night, I found out from Facebook which isn't the best way to find out realistically. The week before, my grandfather passed away too. He was 96. She was 16. 3 months shy of 17. His was expected, hers wasn't. They were both very ill. Now while I'm sad about my grandfather because the last time I saw him was 2007, and because he is family, I think I'm more upset about her.

Like I mentioned, she was ill. She was born with a severe condition called cystic fibrosis (look it up). She'd always been in hospital most of the time, and now recently.

While we didn't have many good moments in the past couple of years, just listening to Amelia by Tonight Alive, and looking at photos and statuses just wants to bring me to tears.

Also, while I thought back then, that she'd eventually not be relevant to me, here I am writing nearly a whole blog post about her. I never really liked her, but I realised she was a good person. Also out of all those not so good moments, there has to be a good one in there somewhere right?

I also guess that when it's somebody's time to go, it's their time to go. But why does life have to take away the good ones, but I guess only the good die young.

I actually wish she was still here at school taunting me for whatever, rather than gone.

She was really strong, and while we may not have been the closest of friends or even friends at all, I miss her. She'll be safe up there in heaven, and with no pain, I'm sure.

R.I.P. Brooke (1996 - 2012)
R.I.P. Grandfather Abu Hussain (1917 - 2012)

<3

Recent events:

Thursday (4/10/12): went out to churros with Chantal which you can read all about here! http://brain-to-the-net.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/churros-and-window-shopping-with-kool.html

Found out about terrible news that my grandfather had died too. (Allah yerhamak)

Sunday (7/10/12):
Birthday. Didn't do anything for obvious reasons.

Monday (8/10/12):
Started year 12!

Friday (12/10/12):
Found about death of classmate at school. Shocked. Rest in peace.

So yeah, my life isn't interesting but I haven't written a post in a while, and I thought I ought to update. Couple of new posts coming soon.