Colourism

Assalamualaikum....

Colourism is a term that is used to show prejudice in terms of the person's skin colour. The term is quite new and it has not been define by anyone yet (I believe so). If we were to search in the open based Encyclopedia (Wikipedia), the term Colorism is still under discussion and most of the articles were not correctly cited (not to mention it falls under "extremely poor article").

Discrimination among human beings in accordance with their skin colour can be seen in America when they are on their way to accept the African as American. During that period the Americans who are fair/pale skinned (Anglo) stands as the majority and the ruling power of America. The Africans who are dark skinned were of course treated differently for being a different race, classes, etc.



In addition to the discrimination of race, dark-skinned people were discriminated with the tone colour of their skin. Meaning to say that the darker you are the more discrimination you will get. They point this as the "Brown Paper Bag Test", where they will use the colour of the brown paper bag as an indication of your skin colour complexion. Those who are darker than the paper bag will not able to attend the party or any other social events that uses this kind of test during that period. Previously in Wikipedia, it also mentions about the test being done to enter the Harvard University, but that part of the article have been removed.

Even in other countries, as a result of the colonization of the Anglo white-skinned people, fair/pale/white-skinned people are being look upon and were seen as more beautiful than those who are darker. This can be seen in my own country Malaysia, India, etc. As a result, beauty product that will make your skin fairer were created and sold to make our skin fairer and "beautiful".



(my opinion) I think Colourism does not only applies to dark-skinned people because of the Black Albino cases in Africa. Albinos in Africa were hunted and killed as they said that their body parts are very valuable in witchcraft. They were also seen as bringers of bad luck in their community.



I hope that the there will be more research in the study of Colourism. I am looking into the possibility about the view of the "colour" itself in relation with the colour of the skin; does the view that light/fair/white imagery is positive and dark/black imagery is negative (for example we have a hero that dresses in white and a villain in black) can reflect to the colour of the skin.



I will also try to look upon this matter in the Islamic point of view. Findings will be posted in the next post.

Danger of Lying

I fell off(tq xLANx) a motorcycle at Greenwood once, riding with my friend. Me and my friend have some minor injuries and were treated at the IIUM clinic. I didn't tell my parents about this because they have warned(tq xLANx) me not to ride on a motorcycle whatever the case is (they're motorcycle-phobic).

Somehow the news got to my parents, but in a different version. I don't know how the news spread but what reached my parents is that I've been in an accident and I'm in the hospital with my arm broken.

See how things turn out when someone lied.

This might sound totally absurd but think about it : You know that Charles Darwin told us that humans are the descendants of apes. One day if someone tells(tq xLANx) (lying as a joke) that we actually evolve from frogs, as the frog prince fairy tale were not just created without a cause, people might just believe it and discuss about it (we have the whole theorist and philosopher convention on this), thus create another theory of evolution concerning frogs.

I know the example given sounds silly but look wider on how a simple lie can change the whole story ad how a lie that is intended as a joke can change the world.

The Butterfly Effect.

The Prophet (PBUH) "forbade Muslims from lying even if they do so only as a joke, in order to make others laugh."

An Idea of Maturity

Once my cousin came to my place and ask my dad about marriage. They were young and they asked about whether they are old enough to marry.

My dad's response is "if you find classic musics as to be good to your ears, that means that you're matured enough".

I do agree with my dad's statement and even though it might not be 100% true, it does reflect your maturity in a way.

As for the music, those singers and musicians would tend to produce music that reflect their age and maturity. Look at Lady Gaga and Dave Matthews Band.


I would say that I'm not that matured as I do love 3OH!3 but I also love Elvis Presley (Suspicious Mind).



p/s: I'm envious of my friends who are getting married.

The Best Thing In Life IS ? (tq Teyhah)

The Best Thing In Life IS Free...(tq teyhah)

I disagree with the statement simply because you cannot enter Heaven for free...

To perform the Hajj you need money...

The Best Thing In Life is to live moderately...

There are things in life which is great and free but there are things which costs something but are still good...

Nothing In Life Is Free...

not true because oxygen is free...

Moderation is the best way...


p/s: I think I should write a book about living life moderately.

-so lazy to write a longer one.I'm going back to Kuantan tomorrow, so I'd like to leave a post.

The 5 Senses...

Most of us are born with complete 5 senses (touch, sight, smell, hear, taste). In fact we love it very much and we would use it to the best. It is also true that some of us were not born with or may loses the 5 senses. Not having the complete "senses" does not mean that you cannot live your life the fullest. Many are successful despite the losses.

Here is the interesting part. In my opinion the great of things are(tq Alia) the ones that does not involve our human 5 senses.

A scene from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Take for example, LOVE. Being loved or giving love is one of the best thing life can offer. Love cannot be sense through our human 5 senses. In fact, whats the use of it (5 senses) if we cannot give nor receive love.

Despite love, HEAVEN is the best thing that human would want. An endless life after the Judgement Day that offers eternal bliss is what everyone who believe in it wants. Heaven is also something that cannot be sensed by our human senses.

DEATH on the other hand is considered to be both bad and good. Death can be a burden when someone we depends on leaves us, but can also be a salvation as the burden can make us stronger. Death is also something that cannot be sense by us (human).

"Do you know what she did? Your cunting daughter!" The Exorcist (1973)

We would find Linda Blair's make up from the movie The Exorcist (1973) as the most horrible and scariest looking thing in our life or maybe the Ju-On ghost as the same thing. But the fact is the most evil thing is the ONES that we cannot see. The most evil of THEM (Satan) is the one who seduce human to do bad and even evil things. The ones that persuades human to leave their prayers, steasl, gambles, etc.

-So not only the best thing, but the most horrible thing that could happen to us cannot be sense via the 5 senses.

So, by having the complete 5 senses, does it make us a better person? Losing one or even the whole 5 of it makes us a lower quality person? Does by having it too much makes us complacent?

p/s: comments are indeed welcomed as this post is merely a rough ideology of mine.

Genie oh Djinn...

Everybody knows the story of Alladin. He finds (bukan "founds", tq Teyhah n LanXLan) the magic lamp and were granted 3 wishes by the Genie. In Disney's version of Alladin the Genie was in blue. The Genie is friendly, funny and witty. I remember loving the movie when I was in standard 1 or 2 and I would guess, who won't?

Here's the weird thing about Alladin's Genie (or generally reffering to the Disney's Alladin)- Since when does a genie or djinn (in reality) is friendly to human, helps them and grants wishes for good?

I don't know the real story or the real version of Alladin, but the one that Disney made was a real fault as for the portrayal of the genie. I didn't notice this until I watch documentaries about Freemason, Anti-Christians and its movement (at one point it even mentioned that Walt Disney as a high member of the Masonic group, woah! ). Were the documentaries for real? I don't know. But one thing for sure is that a genie that grants wishes for us does not intend to do good.



The real thing that could happen to Alladin is supposed to be like what happened to Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. I guess many years ago when Marlowe was alive he maybe heard about the story of Alladin and retells it in another version (the version which I found that was more logical than Disney's Alladin).


All in all, the reason that I'm so concern about this matter is that I don't want my children or any future generation to look at things and accept it as it is. I don't want them to think that a genie may be a friend to us as finding them would grant us wishes and that is a good thing. I don't want them to end up like Dr. Faustus because in my opinion it's not possible to happen.


p/s: The reason that I highlighted Disney's Alladin is because that is the version of Alladin that I can really remember. The other version , the ones in the book seems a bit different where I can find one ending with Alladin and Jasmine being together but without the help of genie or without the presence of genie in the end.


p/s: for those who don't know about the story "Dr Faustus". = It's in short about Dr Faustus who finds help with satan (Mephistophilis and Lucifer) to receive worldly pleasure by selling his soul to them. In the end he regretted what he'd done and 'tis too late that he died in blaspheme.


bonus question : what's a question that does not need an answer called?

Right & Wrong (opinion)

As a child we have been told by our parents about what is right and what is not. Some people use the harsh way and some would prefer the Gandhi (no violence) way to educate their children for the better of them. So which is the best way?

As a teenager we've seen, experience and feel the world more than we used to. We were told that we are now responsible for our act. We see people and wanting to follow their footsteps, but which step is the right step?

As we grow older, we now know the fact that we are responsible for everything. We make decisions, we take opinions, but which is heaven and which is hell? we don't know.

(my opinion)
We are here to try our best in doing what we think is right. Kurt Westergaard (Danish cartoonist who drew bloody Islamic cartoon) is drawing what he think is democracy. The Americans and Zionists were attacking what they think is righteous to kill. Our friends is telling us what to do for what they think is helpful, so does our teachers and parents.

The facts were these (Pushing Daisies' tag line), even though we are blessed with logic and reasons, sometimes(tq alia) we are still unable to determine what is truly right and what is truly wrong. What we consider heaven now may not be paradise tomorrow and what we think is hell today may not be punishment the day after.

Only God (in our case, Muslims: Allah S.W.T) knows what is truly right for us. Many or maybe all of the things that were mentioned to us by other humans (parents, teachers, friends, etc) that seemed to be truthfully right may came from Allah S.W.T from his Holy Book (Al-Quran). For an example, our parents remind us not to pick on flowers and destroy trees; this is also what Allah S.W.T has told us to do, so it is truly right. So, to conclude it is best for us to return to our creator, Allah S.W.T when we seem to lost our path because I believe that He will help and show us the right way if we want to.

p/s: this entry is mostly my opinion. Any wrong information, discussion, correction are welcomed in a nice way ya! peace.

-I make sin, I am human, I am learning.


http://nizars.com/2009/02/17/my-apostasy/ --> just saved this link cos it's sumtin I want to read later.

Oppression is Salvation..

For years the Jews have been oppressed by the German's Nazi under Adolf Hitler, look at the Jews now, they've become better every single second (media, military, world power, etc).

For decades women have been oppressed as the weaker sex all over the world, look at them now as more and more women enters the IPTA in Malaysia leaving the men behind. Women also have better grades than the men in majority.

(I did wonder if men were really or literally getting extinct and that more women were born on earth today than men. I think the answer is no, because all the men have gone to fields that were not academic, for example sports and mechanics stuff.)

The best literary work came from those who are being oppressed (works of war, prejudice, etc) as from the works of those who experience or seen oppression (Charles Dickens, Langston Hughes, Rabindranath Tagore).

The best men also came from those who were been oppressed, such as Malcolm-X, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and even Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. (Both Hitler and Stalin were abused by their fathers in their childhood and look what they've turn out to be).
Thus from these observation I may conlcude that those who have seen, experience, gone through hardships, suffering and humiliation, oppression, tortured, etc are the ones who will be the best. "What doesn't kill you only get you stronger" I believe.

Don't feel bad if you're humiliated, not cool enough, bullied, ragged, etc because you'll turn out to be a great person. You just need to be strong and endure it. Don't feel sad if you don't look handsome or beautiful enough to be attractive to the society because you're going to be stronger, even just don't feel inferior about your physic or mental state. Just don't give a damn..ahah.
"Little People Kill People" Joey Jordison..

All successful people have gone through many hardships and challenges that you can never imagine of. To be successful is to be difficult.

p/s: our Prophet Muhammad S.A.W and other Prophets have endured much to have the words of Allah S.W.T being spread throughout the world until this day. Think about that.

Khusyu' in solat..(EDITED)

Assalamualaikum..(wanna make it a habit ah to give salam, it's the same thing as saying "yo!, wattup?" just nicer . Peace Be Upon You)

I have this problem of not being khushu' in solat (I believe we all have), that come to the extend of forgetting which raka'at of the prayer I'm in, which happens almost everytime (except for Subuh prayer n congregational prayer). I do believe that the reason why I have problems in focussing on stuff (reading, lectures, etc) is because that I'm not khushu' in my solat which is important as it is a way to discipline yourself.

So in order to deal with me forgetting my raka'at, I've created a method to keep track on my raka'at :



The method is as shown by the pictures above is by pointing out your finger (to signify what raka'at u're on, 1 finger for 1st raka'at and so on) during the time when your in the standing state of your solat (I don't know what it's called, but it's the state where you recite the Al-Fatihah and other surah). The method kinda help me in reminding me on which raka'at I'm in. But I do still have doubt in this method (wether is it the right thing to do) so I went to the Department of Fiqh (IIUM) and find someone who'd help me with this.

The result is that after consulting with Lukman (a Post-Graduate student in Fiqh department) I found myself in the state of wrongness. What I really mean is that I came to the state where I believe too much in myself that I could achieve anything or everything if I try my damn best on my own. The method that I created (above) is the result my way of thinking, my ideology or my philosophy.

We (Muslims) must believe that everything in this world belongs to Allah S.W.T and that Allah S.W.T has the power to give and take eveything that he owns anytime and anywhere. It is my mistake that I believe too much on myself that I'd achieve anything if I try my best. As a Muslim I need to believe that I have a God to submit to, and that without his permission I won't achieve anything. So by using this method I'd able to be khushu' in solat on my own ( I would maybe come to think that I don't need Allah's S.W.T help)

So to conclude, my method of indentifying the number of raka'at is in a way a wrong thing to be practiced. Eventhough it kinda helps, but psychologically it tells me that I'm capable of myself to be khushu' in my solat without the help of Allah S.W.T. I won't say this is a wrong method but try to think about it and I do need feedback on this.

People can focus when they march as soldiers but can they be khushu' in solat?

Thanks to brother Lukman from the Department of Fiqh.

Peace!

for more info on Khushu' in solat : http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=4084954384548492003&postID=8425984783781957764

p/s: Lady Gaga plays good music.

The "duhh" attitude (my reflection)

"duhh" is a word that people use to say (maybe out loud) when they listen to a person asking questions that the answer is clear or already known. So the "duhh" attitude, is the action or the behavior of a person reacting to the "duhh" word.

The person with the attitude doesn't have to say the word "duhh", as the majority of Malaysian don't even understand the meaning of it. The behavior can come for an example in class when someone asks the question , then they'll be those who'd talk about the question (most probably among the gang) as it's "duhh" [ek elee..tu pun nk tanye bengap ape..]

This kind of attitude is unacceptable (to me) because:

1. Demotivate people to be participative in class, conference, etc. (serious cause)

2.It tells the one with the attitude to be bodoh sombong (stupid + cocky?)

3.There's no wrong in asking eventhough it's a stupid question

If I were in the position being "duhh" upon, I'd put ut my middle finger (in my heart) towards them (huehue), seing them as the loser and not me. "Malu bertanya kawan, sesat cari jalan pulang".

p/s: serious rase cam byk lg nk tulis tp terbantut n kne smbung tules lpas solat jumaat sbb abang lab nk tutup utk friday prayers. ahha