The calculating Ms Hirsi

I am a staunch believer in freedom of expression. I read INFIDEL not because I ascribe to Ms Hirsi's beliefs but because I was curious what the big hoopla was about her. I found the book to be a narrative of her life and didn't fault her for putting it down. Reading the book, I found myself chuckling at things she wrote that at one time I also questioned. I didn't see much in her book that made me want to harm her. Her narrative mirrored a lot of Somali women's narrative. There was nothing special about her story and she knows it, but what sets her apart from the Weris Diriye's is the fact that Ms. Hirsi is a calculating woman. She, unlike Weris, is knowledgeable and aware of what her opine means in the greater context of the discourse of Islam in the West.

Her new book Nomad is out and hopefully I will get a copy soon, but what prompted my post was a review I saw on huffingtonpost regarding her book. As an afterthought, the writer writes :

I do get the sense once in a while in the second half of Nomad, which discusses her arrival in America, that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a little starry eyed about the West. Yes, Christianity at its best is about love; and no, it is not an all-encompassing theocratic order. But in its fundamentalist reaches the literalism and dogma of evangelicals generates plenty of intolerance, hypocrisy and familial dysfunction. And let's don't forget about the sex scandals in the Catholic Church.

Also, no doubt, in contrast to her experience of misogyny and polygamy Western men look pretty good. But to suggest they are nearly always upright and faithful to their wives and family is to ignore the reality of so many ugly divorces, forlorn children raised by the media, battered spouses and deadbeat dads. Certainly, the West has its fair share of desperate housewives.

Many Muslim readers will have bigger squabbles. How much does Hirsi Ali's experience, in which faith and clan are fused, tell us about, say, modern Turkey or Iran? Others, like Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, the Shiite theorist and first president of revolutionary Iran, will argue that the concept of "Tawhid" -- that the whole of existence is one -- understands that freedom, not submission and domination, is the path to the divine. Yet, admittedly, he lives in exile outside Paris like Trotsky in Mexico City while "actually existing Islam" is run by the Revolutonary Guard back in Tehran.

Above all, like Hirsi Ali's first account of her defection from Islam, Infidel, the power of this book is that it was written in "good faith" as Nicola Chiaromonte meant it: As a witness to her moment, Hirsi Ali calls it as she sees it. She has arrived at her beliefs not by retreating into orthodoxy out of fear of uncertainty or through the nihilism of indifference, but because experience has led her to them. If she wants to live in this world as a free women, here she must stand.

Ms Hirsi is a smart woman who has calculated that her experiences give her a unique perspective that is much needed fodder for the anti Islamic sentiments out there. Unfortunately those of us who speak up against her, without understanding where she is coming from, help her in painting her portrait more succinctly. We would do well to educate ourselves on the issues she raises and counteracting them instead of wildly throwing abuse at her.

Its sprinkling books

Within weeks of graduation I had devoured three books that probably altered what I thought of the world. I won't review the books because I think people should read it and come to their own conclusions.

The first book is HOW SOCCER EXPLAINS THE WORLD. This book uses soccer as a metaphor to explain globalization. Riveting facts about soccer in different countries and whats more you get a little bit of pol sci interspersed within the text that you barely notice it.

The second book is Ayan Hirsi Ali's book Infidel. The book was a gift from a friend who didn't know what Ayan's stigma in the world is. She just saw a Somali female writer and she thought I would like it. Her book documents her journey through most of her adult life. For the most part it provided insight on her views and how she came about it. It was also reinforced the first book's message of encroachment of liberal values on traditional societies and the fallout that occurs after the fact.

The last book is a book written by Quinn and its titled Ishmael. Ishmael is the name of a gorilla who telepathically teaches a human that life as we perceive it is mythological. It definitely changes the way you view the world and perhaps how you will act in the world.

I still have a stack of books left by my bedside that I am working through. I am looking forward to reading the new Naomi Klein book and ALL THE SHAH's MEN. If there are any books you feel will contribute to character building recommend them. Toodles.

The End of HP

I finally emerged from under the covers of my copy of Harry Potter yesterday morning. I was wondering when I will be done with the book since I never got any luxury time during the whole weekend. I passed the book to my younger sister and she seems to have burrowed her head deeper than I did in the book. Anyway unlike many Harry Potter fans I read two versions of the Deathly Hallows and I dare say I like the unreleased version. My theory is that it was leaked from the publishers while it was going through its first edit. My proof? Parenthesized notes under certain chapters with the suggestions.

The first edit seems to be more action packed than the book itself. Harry seems to be a rogue and it worked on him and he also displayed human-like qualities like finally letting Ginny into his life instead of playing the noble prat. The order of the Phoenix weren't killed in obscure deaths either but were given the spotlight when their time came and finally Harry was the one who killed Snape (deservedly so). Anyway, I told my friend I would print her a couple pages and if she was interested she can read this book too. The night of the book release I went with her to Barnes and Noble at midnight, her to pick up her reserved copy and I just needed some coffee and an excuse to get out of my house. I couldn't believe the place was that packed. The people who had reserved their books had to get wrist bands and wait for some guy standing on a table with a bull horn to call their number out. The others who didn't reserve books had to wait until the first batch had gotten their books. I drank my coffee bemused at this whole circus knowing I will pick up my reserved copy sometime in the afternoon tomorrow when the rush had died down. Needless to say I met and saw some characters while I waited for my friend to get her book. When #447 was called I sighed with relief and walked toward the exit, my friend clutching her book to her chest like it would run away.

Madea in Print

Hellerrrr!

This is Madea, how yall doing.(please read this is your most propperrr Madea Voice)

Listen I wrote a book. I got tired of all ya'll asking me all kinds of advice so I wrote down all the advice that I could and put it in this book.It's called it "DON'T MAKE A BLACK WOMAN TAKE OFF HER EARRINGS", and I mean it. It will be on the stands April 11th just in time to make you laugh after paying your taxes.Ya'll got to read this book. I talk about every thing from the miracles of Vaseline to "klink klink lock down". This is my first book and I don't want it to be my last so for all ya'll who like to read, and for ya'll who don't read this is a book you will enjoy. So, pick it up. It is wonderfurr. You can get the book at my favorite store Walmart, or any book store, including that Barney and Nobles place, and all them other places where you readers go to get something to read. I hope you enjoy it and put it on your book club list cause it ain't never gonna make it to Oprah's book club. I guess if Springer had one, this book would be right at home. If you need a laugh or just some advice on relationships, dating, love, money, and raising children Madea style, or killing your husband without getting caught then this is the book for you. So, if you need a laugh or you know somebody that is so stuck up that they look like they been sucking lemons then buy this book for them.They will think you're being nice, but the truth is you want them to relax before you go off on them.

Thank yourrr
Madearrr.


I love Tyler Perry and what he stands for. This guy has stuck to his guns in Hollywood and has kept the main message in his plays and soon to be movies. His plays have a message of faith and forgiveness in them and even though they are primarily directed to Christians I think most of us can do well to learn a thing or two from it. My sister sent me this e-mail because I am a huge fan of the plays. This coming month of May, Tyler Perry arrives in Minneapolis to do his play "Madea goes to Jail". I will be stuck studying for finals and won't be able to make it. I can take solace in knowing that God Willing one of these summery days I can take a trip to the closest venue to watch him live. I am looking forward to getting the book too.

Conclusion

This is an quote from a book I am reading. When I read this for some reason it struck true.Maybe it explains a lot of things I see these days or maybe because I look for answers in odd places. Whatever the case I want to share it with the rest of y'all bloggers out there. Be interesting to see what your views are and maybe even what experiences you went through that follow this theorem.

"First love preserves throught a marriage the bright, living kernel of the
falling-in-love that engendered it, the outgoing of the heart by which the lover
recognizes, sometimes instantly and sometimes by progressive stages, the human
being who can soothe or satisfy his deepest desires-the one person with whom he
can redemptively re-create the primeval love for a father, mother, sister,
brother or other family member that could never be fulfulled. And though, when
he falls in love, the lover may know little about the beloved, whose soul may be
a mystery and whose body may hide beneath its clothes an ugly defect or scar yet
to be uncovered by his desire, still he is bonded to his beloved blindly and
trustingly and is ready to die for her even before he has seen her nakedness.
This is the meaning of the expression "falling in love" found in so many
languages, for the lover has as it were fallen into a deep pit (at the bottom of
which may lurk a snake or scorpion), and there must build his love for himself.

And even after the outward signs have yielded their inner promise in all its
glory or poverty, its undreamed-of heights or insufferable depths, the glow of
the first falling-in-love continues everywhere and all the times. Yes, even when
the beloved is in a wheelchair in an old-age home, diapered and connected to
tubes, even then the flash of a smile in moldering eyes, the ancient movement of
a veiny hand, the heard-again lilt of a dear voice, even a single sentence
containing the right words , can resurrect the first falling-in-love in a
twinkling-that love that unconditionally and in advance forgives every weakness
and failing, if only for the reason that in advance it knew nothing about them.

Indeed, nothing is more democratic than this total embrace of the beloved;for
just as the state, or the republic, can never revoke the citizenship of a
citizen, be he a spy, traitor, rapist, or murderer, so first love forbears in
all things because the first, unconditional falling-in-love persists.

There is another kind of love. The kind of love that has to do with choice. A more
developed variety, skipping love's primitive and dangerous "fall" for what is
deliberately and courageously chosen-not because it is the best choice, since
there is always a better one, but because it has potential. (I once watched a
nature program on television about a certain species of duck or swan that takes
four years of painstaking investigation to choose a mate-the longest aptitude
test on record.) Rather than marriage as a first flowering of feeling that lasts
only until the next falling-in-love, the love of choice offers something less
passionate but more stable:responsibility. In a moment of crisis the first kind
of lover declares emotionally,"What is done is done-I fell in love
with you, and so I forgive you," but whereas the second kind says
coolly,"Yes, what's done is done-I chose you, and I am responsible
for my choice."But-and here's the rub-while love of the first kind
can by its nature overlook what it doesn't like, love of the second kind is
incapable of such evasions. And so when something bad shakes the foundations,
"responsible love" is too weak to support it-and at that point the whole
structure collapses, and all that's left to say is,"You'd better pack your
things!"

To paraphrase the writer there are two kinds of love. The one that is unconditional and the one that is conditional. Many of us in Somali culture had grandparents who went through arranged marriage. The question arises as to if they actually had conditional love or unconditional love? My thoughts are most of them had conditional love/responsible love. The ones who were blessed had unconditional love.

If most of you haven't noticed, the diaspora Somalis divorce rates are skyrocketing. You would logically conclude there is something wrong with such a picture if in the past there was a 90-95 retention rate in the marriages why such a drastic change? You would think in the west they would have more of a freedom to choose their love but instead their marriage is based on choice;warmth? xtra income? Children? Security? Immigration status?

Children

A child is a precious thing. A child vies for your attention, seeks your guidance and is blessed with the sweet innocence we all envy. Looking back in your childhood there are many occasions you recall; the first present you got, your mom hugging you for the tiniest things you did, your dad's heartfelt advice after a stern telling off! Do our parents shape our understanding of life and ultimately the character of self we portray to the world?

During one of my readings I came across an article that highlighted that genes might be behind the personalities we exhibit. Dr Weis and his colleagues discovered, in one of the longest and most thorough studies of child development ever attempted, was that parents appear to have relatively little effect on how children turn out, once genetic influences are accounted for. "The original objective was to look for environmental differences," says Reiss. "We didn't find many." Instead, it seems that genetic influences are largely responsible for how "adjusted" kids are: how well they do in school, how they get along with their peers, whether they engage in dangerous or delinquent behavior.

Apparently your DNA codes for a unique nervous system that responds to particular situations differently. As children we pick and choose the one that best suits our geriotype. Anyway long story short our genes provide the words and parenting provides the punctuation, inflection, tone and emphasis. Surrounding your child's environment with books when he seems predisposed to reading is a conversation between environment and genes. The parent then acts in the capacity of collaborator.

This is interesting to me because I think the youth have much impact in society and if we start them off on a good footing then we are better off as a society.

Da Vinci Code

This past week I decided to pick up the audio book form of The Da Vinci Code. Needless to say that I was curious what the huge hoopla was about this fictional work. As I lay in my bed each night before I feel asleep and listened to the reader go through chapter after chapter I begun to think of consipiracy theorist. We all know them and have heard everything from the assasination of JFK to the recent 9/11. I have never heard the theory of the holy grail before.

Listening as Dan Brown exponded on the theory I double checked his "facts". I went online and pulled up the last supper painting, virgin on the rocks and madonna on the rocks. I noted the things that were mentioned in the book and all I can say is I am intrigued. I always thought that religion was too organized for my liking. Yes, we humans are in need or structure and direction but I also believe spirituality is a personal and unique route. Kinda like different strokes for different people. I am also predisposed to believe anything contrary to the belief of Jesus as the son of God, so that could also play a part in my nodding my head in agreement as opposed to shaking it vehemently and admonishing such a mockery of gospel of Jesus Christ.

Anyway for now suffice it to say I will do a little bit of research on the freemasons and priory of scion. Will update if I find something of interest.