Link Love – Itto’s ecole vivante Annual Report

I like our school: there are books, toys and food, and we make
funny things and the teachers are always nice with us.
(Saïda, 7 years)

Lot’s of great news and happenings out of the little valley– they are up to 24 students and received enough help to build their fabulous compost toilets! They have also begun extended education courses for other folks in the area.

Direct from Itto’s Journal:

Salaam aleikoum dear friends and readers,

Over one year passed since the opening of our primary school “école vivante” in September 2010, mashaallah – A lot happened over this year: a lot of work and personal growth, a lot of joy and blessed moments, subhanallah. I would have never been able to imagine how this whole project enriched and in which ways it changed our lives, Allahu akbar. God is the Best of planners and I am deeply grateful and happy to give you some actual updates:

As you might remember, last spring I travelled, together with our daughter and our class teacher, to Switzerland to an advanced training in our partner-school – and as every time, also this meeting was a most helpful and enriching time and the intercultural exchange took again place both ways, alhamdulillah.

In early summer’11 motivated friends from Germanycreated a circle of friends called „Ait Bouguemz e.V.”, that is a registered non profit association with the aim to support our project, inchaallah.

Soon after, we went online with our own multilingual homepage (I still have to translate some parts into English and French, but alhamdulillah, it is already very detailed in German).

In July’11 already the summer holidays began. Our 16 pupils reached the expected aims and a beautiful celebration with all the children, families and friends marked the end of a successful first year and the school got, both locally and internationally, positive feedback and encouraging approval, Alhamdulillah!

Due to generous donations we were able to add new furniture and a classroom and to become larger after Ramadan – more than half of our own house is now for the school.

The team was extended by a new teacher and after the busy time of the new enrolling we have now, since September, 24 pupils, mashaallah.

During the whole last year a continual supportive exchange took place with our Swiss partners and in October two of their lovely teachers came to visit to further develop our trend-setting pedagogy together with the local team. These times are always very inspirational and an important part of this interreligious and intercultural project.

Since November a French language course for the young women of the valley takes place outside the main school hours and other public activities are in planning. We have lots of demands and many new ideas and it is such a blessing to feel accepted by the public, alhamdulillah.

Further donations allowed us recently to finally finish the pupil toilets in the backyard of the school. As you already know, they are so-called compost or humanure toilets and now our school also sets ecologically seen innovative examples.

Read Itto’s whole account here.

And check out the official detailed report for ecole vivante’s social development program here.

Unschooler Update – Algebra

I was recently bemoaning the lack of well-seasoned homeschooling and unschooling family blogs with some other home-educating friends. Many of the groups I join or follow or fall upon are full of parents of young children (often preschooled aged) just starting on their journey. While I had always thought that “once the kids are big”–this will give us parents more time, my time–right? And so where the old timers at? Are they just so over the years and decades of homeschooling that rehashing is out of the question? Well, my theory was completely faulty as, you know, this parenting thing never ends and many of us simultaneously have teens or even adults and school-aged or even preschoolers. So, I’m ignoring all my kids and other responsibilities for a few minutes to do this upschool update. You’re welcome in advance.

Recently my 10 and 13 year olds have taken up interests in math. The 10 y.o seems to have simply recognized that he doesn’t wholly “get” all his math facts and has been sorting through the processes and doing lots of lapbook pages. Or maybe his interest was partially sparked by the 13 y.o’s more intent-filled drive. Among other things, the eldest has interests in engineering, chemistry, aerodynamics and space travel. By “interests” I mean he reads (studies) these topics daily. He is a wealth of nod-along-to information. And since he has been looking up information about acquiring certification and degrees for various work related to these subjects, he has learned that he’ll need a lot of math knowledge to do the kind of work that he is interested in.

I fully admit to initially having slightly more than minor feelings of dread about having to relearn all this stuff. As much as I loved Algebra when I was his age, I haven’t used it. I don’t remember much of it, I don’t want to remember–I rather exert that energy elsewhere, following my interests. Greedy mama, eh? No, I know I am not. And I quickly remembered that my personalized style of pedagogy doesn’t require that I do it all. We can find a way to get a tutor, but thus far that is completely unnecessary.

Son has a bunch of lap books he is working with; he also has Youtube, Google, Wikipedia, and Brainpop is still our first go to for how-to. The kids even like to take the Brainpop tests to see if they “get it.” We also found a standardized test online for him to take so that he could identify what areas he needed to learn or improve in; not to my surprise, he got a high B without having had any formal math for at least a year. He sort of questions and discusses things out loud at me a lot, asking me about pi, formulas, processes and whatnot, but not really expecting answers–just thinking, processing out loud before he goes online to search exactly or closer to what it is he really needs to know.

After having read so much theory and other’s accounts of  homeschooling, unschooling and autodidacticism, as well as my own experiences, it’s exciting to actually watch the process unfold.

Further reading: Here’s a really lovely blog from a homeschool graduate. Peek the other side.

Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim. An Anthology

Please check out, share and submit! to this, insha Allah, upcoming anthology Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim. on WordPress, on Facebook, on Tumblr…

~~~

Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim

Ruminations on Being, Creating, and Believing

Bismillah al Rahman al Raheem

This is a call for submissions for a new project, the anthology Artist Intersections: Woman, Artist, Muslim. As you well know art and all its various forms, such as poetry, performance, film, illustration, fashion, are often misunderstood and even demonized in the greater Muslim community. The intent of this project is to reflect on the experiences of creative/creating Muslimahs to (insha Allah) dispel some of these myths as well as to inspire others to maximize their God-given talents and the blessings available through doing so.

As this project hopes to reveal (notice we didn’t say “unveil”!) a wide scope of the artists and artistic happens, both visual and literary, across the ummah, we are open to accepting a diverse array of writing styles, including and by no means limited to essays, dialogues, creative non-fiction writing and poetry that is directly relevant to the subject matter. We would also like to include some inspiring, entertaining and/or insightful interviews of artsy sisters. You are welcome to put together an interview for submittal, contact us for suggestions of sisters of interest, or run by us ideas of potential interviewees.

Works which include excerpts from Quran, hadith, and other Muslim Maxims are of course welcomed in this project, however if your style or preference does not include such, your work is also welcome as we strive for inclusion of a diverse representation of believers, respecting the individuality in each Muslim point of view. This is not an anthology of “Islamic Art,” rather it is an anthology of Muslim Women Artists. In the spirit of inclusivity we ask that writers consider their readers and therefore cannot accept any work which includes vulgarity or explicit depictions of sex. Submissions from Sisters of Color are especially appreciated.

We would love to hear about issues related to being a Muslim woman artist, such as:

• Internal and external struggles with accepting yourself as a artist
• Rectifying your culture, art and religion
• Epiphany-like moments related to being an artist
• Art and dawah
• Art as ibadah
• Art as rizk: Being a working (as in selling) artist
• Accepting yourself as being a creative being or non-working (as in selling) artist
• Creativity and your community
• Reflections on historical Muslim arts and artists which inspire you
• Anything else related to your being an artist, a woman and a Muslim

Submission Guideline Details:

• Email all submissions both as .doc and pasted in the content of your email to intersectionsanthology@gmail.com
• Maximum 5,000 words
• Include a 2-3 sentence biography
• If you have one, include website or blog url
• Submissions due March 1^st, 2012

Information about compensation, copy rights and similar will not be available until a publisher has been secured, minimally each accepted entry will receive a copy of the anthology.

Please help spread the word! Share the submission guidelines for Intersections:  Woman, Artist, Muslim on your blog, website, social networks and with all of your creative sisters.

The Hijrah Dialogues: Part Three

Part Three: Brooke Benoit talks with Dr. Jamillah Karim, professor of religious studies at the all female Spelman College, “anthropologist at heart” and author, about her mini hijrah to Malaysia and how becoming an immigrant and Other will help Karim in her life’s work within the ummah.

What brought you, your husband and your two young sons to Malaysia, and is it the only Muslim-majority country you have visited?
Malaysia is the first Muslim-majority country that I lived in and visited. I traveled to Malaysia the first time in 1997 as part of a forty-member Muslim youth delegation, invited by the Malaysian government to see an example of Islam thriving in a modern society and to then apply our discoveries in our home communities. At that time, our group was impressed with the way in which the Malaysian government sought to apply traditional Islamic thought and law in ways that accommodate modern values.  As ethnic and religious minorities in the United States, we found it especially compelling that Malaysia emphasized Islam as the majority religion at the same time that it embraced its religious and ethnic diversity.  We also found the treatment of women in Malaysian society favorable. Women in traditional Muslim attire appeared to fully participate in the public sphere.  

After that visit, I traveled to Cairo for an eight-week Islamic Civilization course, to Mecca and Medina for the hajj, to Fez as part a ten-day interfaith pilgrimage, and to Istanbul for my honeymoon. In 2010 my family lived in Malaysia for a year while my husband to attended the International Center for the Education of Islamic Finance (INCEIF). My husband has an MBA in finance from Georgia Tech, but he has always been interested in Islamic Finance and exploring how this alternative system could be applied in the American context.

 I appreciated and embraced the display of diverse religious communities.

Was there anything markedly different about how Islam is presented in Malaysia compared to the other Muslim-majority countries you visited?

 

It had been over a decade since my first visit to Malaysia and with my travels and acquired academic background in the studies of Islamic cultures I did have insight of the unique features of Malaysian Muslim socity. Many of the features of this society that stood out back then reemerged during my recent residence in the country. Certainly, what makes Malaysia unique compared to all of the other Muslim-majority countries that I visited is its substantial non-Muslim population. Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, and other religious groups make up forty percent of the population. I appreciated and embraced the display of diverse religious communities. This appreciation is influenced, I am sure, by my American ideals of religious inclusion, but not even in America do you see minority religious holidays recognized with such high public profile in the way that you see them celebrated in Malaysia. I kept my eye toward the Chinese and Indian Malaysian experience in the country, as opposed to that of the Muslim Malays, which was definitely influenced by the fact that I lived in an upper-class expatriate area where a substantial number of Chinese Malaysians lived or owned businesses.  My eyes were opened as I listened to non-Muslims describe their feelings about social policies that favor Muslim Malays and the recent proposals made by political groups to create laws that impose religious standards or preferences.

 

Living in Malaysia I gained a better sense of the ethnic and religious tensions and realized how the substantial minority presence actually contributes to Malaysia’s reputation as a progressive Muslim-majority. The diverse voices, even within the Muslim population, continue to push the society to think about and embrace ways to identify as a Muslim society in which religious minorities feel fully recognized and integrated in the society.

Do you feel that you practiced your deen any differently while living in Malaysia? How has living there improved your deen, if at all?

I loved the way in which decorations for Eid were put up well before the holiday and the way in which Eid was cherished as a time to spend with family. It reminded me of the Christmas holiday season here in the US. In the convert community in which I grew up, I saw Eid practiced as a community affair, but now with my generation having children and our Muslim families expanding, Eid is increasingly becoming more family-based, being experienced as a time for extended family to come together as well as community activities. Otherwise, I wouldn’t say that living in Malaysia made a great difference in the practice of my deen. Islam as practiced in the United States is so rich and accessible that I never imagined traveling abroad as a critical component to increasing my personal faith, except for the pilgrimage to Mecca, of course.

On your blog you have said that as a stay at home mom in Malaysia you had the unique opportunity to connect with women from all over the world and this would be the #1 thing you would miss when leaving Malaysia. This was a little surprising to me, after all we both come from The Melting Pot where diversity is loudly touted, so what was the difference that made these connections possible in what, I would think, is a less diverse country than the US?

In the states I live in a black neighborhood in a majority-black city, I work at a black college for women, and I attend a black mosque. Depending on where you reside in the United States, there may not be opportunities to connect with people from all over the world. In my book I highlight the ways in which many of us are tied to ethnic locations in the United States while occasionally we have the chance or we deliberately make an effort to cross ethnic boundaries. Living in a diverse expat area in Kuala Lumpur, I had neighbors from all over the world. I wasn’t the only one making this observation. I remember an expatriate from Australia talking about how wonderful it was to meet people from everywhere.

Before going to Malaysia you were very candidly told that you would experience racism in more “direct” ways than in the US. Why wasn’t racism a deterrent for going abroad and how was the racism different than what you experience in the US?

It wasn’t a deterrent because we wouldn’t let the scare of racism prevent us from missing a once in a lifetime opportunity. Perhaps too it is because we haven’t experienced racism directly like our parents and grandparents did to really be scared. When my husband mentioned to his aunt that people said we might face racism, she responded that we don’t even know what racism is as our ancestors had experienced it in the last century.

Racism in Malaysia was different in that it was direct, but not just towards black people. Malaysia is a very race and ethnic conscious country and it is understood that people are preferred in different situations based on their race. In the United States, if you call an apartment complex to inquire about leasing, no one’s going to ask you directly or immediately about your ethnic or racial background. Perhaps they will take cues from the way you speak or discriminate after seeing you, but they wouldn’t directly ask you if you are black or immigrant on the telephone as I experienced in Malaysia.

In your book, American Muslim Women: Negotiating Race, Class and Gender within the Ummah, you explain some of the dynamics which keep the ummah in the United States from being more unified, especially among immigrant and African American Muslims. How has living as an immigrant in Malaysia evolved your perspectives of these dynamics?

I thought about this question a lot. I am now more understanding of the dilemma that immigrants face as they try to make it in a new country.  How is it even possible to integrate into the new society without ascribing to some of the long-standing race and class dynamics? I still agree with the tone of my book as it celebrates those immigrants who’ve tried to resist wholesale assimilation into these racial patterns, but I’m more sympathetic to those who haven’t.

How long have you been back in the states and are you experiencing any of the repatriation discomforts? What, if anything, are you missing about Malaysia and do you have any plans to live abroad in another Muslim-majority country?

I have been back in the United States over two months and I’m experiencing hardly any discomfort. I’m very happy to be with my family and community. Of course I think back fondly on my time in Malaysia. I miss the friends that I made, especially those in the expat Muslim community. I’m missing the Malay family that took us in last Ramadan. I’m missing the food, sweet and savory and halal. I’m missing all the vacationing and tourist stuff we did in Malaysia.

No, I don’t have any plans to live abroad. I’ve always been exceptionally hopeful and excited about the great things American Muslims are destined to do here at home. I’m grateful to be among the first generations of Muslims in America. I look forward to making a contribution and continuing the legacy of establishing an American Muslim home and community for my children.

~~~

This article originally appeared in the November 2011 issue of SISTERS Magazine (the magazine for fabulous Muslim women).

Normally I wouldn’t: Tale From The Moroccan Countryside

As much as I had hoped to educate myself about my host nation, I have gotten excruciatingly weary of guide books and websites and cookbooks and so on that claim to know-it-all about Morocco, but are actually full of inferences and assumptions and, just uff. What may be true in one house, for one family, for one Moroccan-verily cannot be true for all. So recently when an elder Moroccan Amazigh woman brought us some tales from her vacation in the countryside I was enthralled to hear her version of something I had read similarly about in a guide book. Here’s my interpretation of what was interpreted to me through one woman about what another woman witnessed in one community:

Like many villages, once a week the souk comes to this rural community a little south of Marrakesh and all the menfolk head over to what is part farmers’ market, part flea market and purchase their weekly food and supplies. While the men are away for the day, all the womenfolk of the village come together for a picnic and chit chat. I was told that these villages are very, very quiet unlike our traffic-congested Casablanca neighborhood and though made of thick mud, the houses are not at all sound proof, so any kind of disturbance or raised voices are easily heard by neighbors. Therefor, once a week, these women come together and cut loose quite a bit. The gathering is actually called something to the effect of “Bad word gathering” as the women do on these occasions cut loose with their language as well.

These gatherings are known of to the men and they also know to stay away from these women-only events. On the rare occasions that men have either intentionally or unwittingly happened upon these picnics, they have been beaten up by these ladies! Once an oil seller was passing through the region and stopped by the group of women not knowing what he was intruding on. Not only did they beat and scratch him, but they also ripped off his clothes! This really shocked me and I asked how could these Muslim women defend their actions of attacking an innocent man and exposing his awrah  (portion of the body that should not be exposed to others)? Wasn’t this a hshuma (shameful) act on their part?

The elder woman explained to us that it was necessary for the women to pro-actively defend themselves and their honor from the intrusion. Firstly, their diligent behavior is a way to discourage any man from willfully spying or intruding on their events, and also necessary to defend their honor–no questions will be asked as they take action before any man can.

My guidebook made it sound like these occasions were just a bunch of cantankerous old women being meanies. Now you know the truth. Er, one truth. Fierce.

The Hijrah Dialogues: Hijrah Hopping with Jayla

From discussions of identity, belonging and race, to home and family – SISTERS brings you The Hijrah Dialogues, chronicling a diverse body of brave adventures and trials as muhajiras seek out their own spot on the spaciousness of Allah’s I earth, in search of that elusive greener grass.

Part Two: Brooke Benoit discusses hijrah-hopping across the Middle East with education specialist and EFL instructor, Jayla Muhammad, and her American-born children who have lived in Kuwait, Egypt, UAE, Qatar and now, insha Allah, are readying to move to Oman.

 
What is your family background?
My uncle was the first to become Muslim in my family. My other
uncle became Muslim next, then my mother and grandmother. After
a while all the cousins who were not born into Islam as well as my
two aunts took their shahadah. At one point in my life I gave myself
a year to make up my mind. I wanted to have a religious life and
I knew that I could not straddle the fence forever. I am grateful to
have been exposed to more than one faith and I think that I have a
deeper understanding and compassion for people from many walks
of life. I have a respect for others’ views and after giving myself that
year of learning and discovery, I chose Islam. So now, we have five
generations of Muslims in our family.

 
What was the first country you made hijrah to and how did you go
about doing it?
Egypt. I hated it from the first day. I got mistaken for being Sudanese
all the time. This is not a problem for me, but but it seems like the
people I ran into didn’t like people from Sudan. I was called every
name in the book! At first it didn’t bother me because they were
calling me names in Arabic, but after I learned what they were saying
it drove me crazy.
I was hired to teach at a fairly new school in Cairo which needed
teachers from the US to help them get certified. We did all the
interviews over the phone and they never saw me or any other
teacher. All together there were twelve teachers from the US, four
of us were black and all four of us got fired before the ninety day
probation period was over.

 
What other Muslim-majority places have you lived in?
I have lived in Kuwait, Egypt, UAE and Qatar. I didn’t like Kuwait and
I left because I didn’t feel safe as I had men follow me home from
work and shopping. From there I went to the UAE, which I really
enjoyed. I lived there for three years and made some great friends
and felt as if I could stay there for a long time. My kids all took Arabic
classes, had great friends and there were tons of wonderful parks
for them to play in or just to spend the day flying kites in. They were
happy and that alone made me happy.
We had to leave when I lost my job as I couldn’t find a replacement
job that I liked. I was offered many positions, but all of them required
me to take off my abaya and/or wear coloured scarves. Not that I am
of the opinion that a woman has to wear all black, but I’m not going
to work for a company that makes that choice for me. I knew Allah
I would provide something for me as long as I did what I knew in
my heart was right. I went to Doha and well, it didn’t really work out
for me so I returned home to the US.

 
You said you didn’t think you would ever go back to the ME after the first
time, what changed?
When I returned home I felt like I was in my own skin for the first
time in a long time, but that feeling didn’t last. After the honeymoon
wore off I started to feel like an outsider. I lived in Texas and there
are not many people in abayas there. I started to just wear hijab
and normal clothes, but I felt naked – I just couldn’t do it. I was also
uncomfortable in the abaya as people stared at me. Once, a lady had
rushed to grab her child away from where I was standing, insinuating
that I was going to do something harmful towards her child. I really
felt so low at that time. I don’t think I ever mentally recovered from
that day, and from there things just went downhill.
I started questioning everything. Why do I feel the way I do and why
am I allowing my children to deal with these issues? I wondered
what my life would really be like, if I would ever have the quality of
life I had before and would my children want to be Muslim as adults
or not? I felt that I was putting too much pressure on my children.
Then my children started asking me when we were going to go back
overseas. Our lifestyle in the US was very different when compared
to the UAE. My daughter was the only one in her school with a hijab.
Although this was not an issue for her, as she is she is very selfconfident, it did make it harder for her to make friends. We lived in an
apartment, we had an old car, we were struggling and it was hard on
them. In the UAE life was just better for me and my children.
Not many people have teens and tweens that want to move
overseas. Alhamduillah, I did. I think I needed that time away to really
appreciate the Gulf. Right now, we’re living in Egypt and while I can’t
see us making this home, I think I do feel better about being here
than I did about being in the US. Insha Allah once I am in Oman I will
be more at peace.

 
What are your long-term plans?
Well, we have several options. My husband wants us to settle in
Egypt. He has land here and wants to build an apartment for us in
Alexandria, but I am not sold on that idea. There are other countries
with large Muslim populations and I don’t and won’t just settle for a
place because it is convenient.
Once I retire, my kids can always sponsor me and that way I won’t
have to move. Or I can save my money, and once I find a place I
like, that offers a visa, I will retire there insha Allah. I find that saving
money is easier in the Gulf, after the first year it is easy to save up to
a quarter or even half of your salary. The first year I will have to set up
my home and buy a car, and if I work another ten years I can retire
with a nice piece of change. The one thing my children all have in
common is they all say they want to see the world. None of them
can even imagine a life without travelling.

 
*At the time of printing, Jayla was considering separate job offers in
Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia

Brooke Benoit is an American artist who is home-educating her children
in Casablanca, Morocco. She hopes, insha Allah, that life in The Mahgrib
is the first leg of her own hijrah endeavours. Amongst her many interests
and concerns are radical education reform, sustainable living practices,
self-expression and discovery through art and sisterly love.

**This article originally appeared in the SISTERS Magazine (The Magazine for Fabulous Muslim Women) October 2011 issue.

Only Pretty Thoughts

Dearest Three Regular Readers,

We knew I would never be able to keep this at a steady pace and alas I have gotten very neglectful. It’s the beads! The pretty, sparkly, happy, sexy beads–they distract me and keep me busy these days.

Please have a looksie at my new Etsy shop, which The Boy #1 is in on as well, and don’t take me off your blogroll yet. Insha Allah I will be yammering away soon now that I figured out most of that yucky techy time-consuming stuff over at The Ets.

<3

~Brooke

The Hijrah Dialogues: Muhajir Mama’s First Flight

From discussions of identity, belonging and race to home and family – SISTERS brings you The Hijrah Dialogues chronicling a diverse body of brave adventures and trials as muhajiras seek out their own spot on the spaciousness of Allah’s earth, in discovery of that elusive greener grass.

Part One: Brooke Benoit catches up with Iman Zaineb 44, an English as a Foreign Language instructor and professor of World Religions with an MA in History of Religions-focus on religions of South Asia, to discuss her journey from the USA to Morocco, and back again.

 A Muhajir Mama’s First Flight

When American convert Iman Zaineb was seeking a second husband, her marital forum profile insisted that hijrah be included in the package, “I want to live where I can hear the adhan five times a day, and not from a clock that looks like a mosque!” Her call sent out from Atlanta, Georgia was answered from Casablanca, Morocco.

 Iman, a well-seasoned traveller, avoided the typical expat intercultural communication and intestinal discomforts as she, along with her young daughter, quickly settled into a honeymoon period – both as a newlywed and also what expat experts call those first idyllic days of living in a new-to-you country.

“When I first arrived in Morocco, I lived in a very conservative, simple neighbourhood of working families. Because of the architecture of the place, neighbours saw each other frequently, while coming and going, hanging laundry, etc. We spent a lot of time chatting, going back and forth from each other’s houses and watching our children play. This was probably my best time as a Muslimah because there was a beautiful mosque in the area and I would often go with my neighbours to pray. I learned a lot about Islam and about Moroccan culture at this time.”

 Iman felt the rawness of being a stranger, an immigrant, and a black one at that.

It all gets real

Then Stage 2 began. As was agreed upon before the purchase of airline tickets and the nikah, Iman returned to work. She found a job at an American school where her daughter enrolled. The family moved closer to her job, which meant higher rent, and in turn Iman had to take on more work during evenings and weekends. This was less than ideal as she was now “always working” and spending few waking hours with her young child. Six months later she began a better paying job teaching English as a Foreign Language full-time at a costly international English language center in an urban district of Casablanca.

New unforeseen challenges arose for her as she was now forced to make choices she hadn’t imagined to be concerns in a Muslim country. “If I wanted the best paying classes in the banks, in the offices, of the CEOs of various industries, wearing my hijab was going to be an issue. It became a choice between looking like a Muslimah, or feeding and educating my daughter.”

Between the commuting, working long hours, de-hijabing for work, and the power plays with Iman being the family’s breadwinner, her marriage began to suffer under the stress. Iman and her husband amicably agreed to separate and she was granted a talaq (divorce).

“I went [to Morocco] to marry a Muslim man, with the desire to complete half of my deen. And within two years, I was back to being a single parent – struggling and outside of my homeland and without my family.”

By Myself

Iman moved, for the third time, within walking distance of her job and her daughter’s new school. In her new neighbourhood, not only was the masjid and Islam not “at the forefront of the scene at all,” but Iman felt the rawness of being a stranger, an immigrant, and a black one at that, “There were very few Muslims interested in entertaining a friendship with an African American single mother. Issues of race and marital status began to crop up in way that I, inspired by this Qur’anic verse, had not expected:”

“O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you into nations and tribes that ye may know one another.” [Sura Al-Hujurat:13]

When applying for her latest apartment, this time by herself, Iman was shocked and frustrated that, “I had to show my passport and have the office manager of the company vouch for my American-ness!” The landlord was upfront about not wanting to rent to sub-Saharan Africans due to stereotypes and biases common in Morocco. Innumerable micro aggressions and overt occurrences of racism became par for the muhajir’s course. In the chic interior of her job’s offices her “blackness” had her occasionally mistaken for a cleaning lady. Outside the offices, her treatment was sometimes worse:

“I was walking close to my home, after having taken my daughter to school when I saw a beautifully dressed older Moroccan woman walking past me. Her jeleba and scarf were amazing, and so I smiled and gave my salaam, since she was looking at me right in the face. She responded, “Shnoo briti, aziya?!” This is one of the strangest responses to ‘As salaamu alaikum’ that I have ever received. It’s Moroccan Darija for, “What do you want, black girl?!” Her response was an indication of the fact that to her, despite my hijab and modest dress, my Islam wasn’t enough. She saw me only as a Black person.”

 And away we go

These unexpected treatments were immensely different from Iman’s professional life as a teacher in the United States, at the prestigious all African American Morehouse College for men. She was the first woman, the first Muslim and even the first non-Minister to teach in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. Iman did not experience open discrimination based on her religion or gender, rather she was awarded for her teaching excellence.

EFL teachers in developing nations are notoriously treated as expendable. After five years of teaching, living, loving and learning in Casablanca, Iman’s stay unexpectedly came to an end when her company restructured and she was offered to renew her contract with too little work to support her small family. Not only did she not have the time and resources to quickly find another position elsewhere, but back in Atlanta her family was begging to see her and her daughter. Iman heeded her mama’s call and flew home.

On opposite shores of the Atlantic Ocean Iman has had to consider which side is greener and why? “Sometimes, while in Morocco, I wondered why I had left Atlanta?” She admits it was partially, “a bit of an Orientalist’s desire to live in the magical, mystical world of an Islamic nation, surrounded by fellow Muslims, and to raise my daughter in such an environment.”

For all the struggling of back and forth, Iman notes that her daughter has benefitted the most from their hijrah experience. Not only is the nine year old fluent in three languages, she has learned far more Qur’an than Iman has had the time to do so since her conversion over a decade ago.

Currently Iman is embarking on a new home-based career that she hopes will travel well, either back “to Morocco or some other Islamic nation – with more awareness and more mental preparation – so that my daughter can continue to study Arabic and Qur’an.” Insha Allah!

Brooke Benoit is an American artist who is home-educating her children in Casablanca, Morocco. She hopes, insha Allah, that life in The Mahgrib is the first leg of her own hijrah endeavors. Amongst her many interests and concerns are radical education reform, sustainable living practices, self-expression and discovery through art, and sisterly love.

~~~

This article originally appeared in the September 2011 issue of SISTERS Magazine–the magazine for fabuous Muslim women!

Ramadan Resolutions

Panel of images of the moon's cycle.

Every year, save this one, just before Ramadan I do a little intensive course for reminders about the history and sunnahs of Ramadan (I can’t tell you how many years it took me to remember iftar is at Mahgrib-wishfill thinking that it’s at asr!) and I always learn lots of new stuff that I’ve been wondering about from previous years. I also do an eid course the night or so before. I think having five (free-schooled!) kids has put me into some kind of new bracket were wishful thinking has become far too regularly the norm. I mean, I need to do more advanced planning for just about everything because my time has become severally limited and this Ramadan I really felt the crunch. Last year I did have five kids, but one was abroad, so this was the first with all five.

Anyway. I also really came to understand this:

“Allah likes the deeds best which a worshipper can carry out constantly.” –Bukhari and Muslim

Immediately before Ramadan I hear people making big plans for all the ibadah they want to cram into those 720 hours of the month and I tend to use that as a marker for my own abilities. I’m not going to do that anymore. Many people, myself included, drop off by the end of the month and don’t or barely have the energy left to finish out their plans during those crucial last ten days. This year I saw many people make it out to the mosques just for what they suspected was Laylat al Qadr and some who had been going regularly up until then stopped for the last few days! So, herein is where I do some long term strategic planning…

1)    Keep Up The Fasting: Again, five kids—that’s four years of being pregnant and ten years of breastfeeding! AlhumdiAllah, so while I have done ok to continue Monday and Thursday fasting some years, others were not possible—this year looks good, so here I go! Insha Allah. Regular fasting always keeps me much more aware and active in my deen, and it is easiest for me to just keep at the habit right after Ramadan—the brilliance of Shawwal, eh.

2)    Increasing My Naafils: I often get this guilty, nagging idea that I should increase them during Ramadan-wrong! That’s when I am adding other prayers, plus fasting, plus other acts of worship. I should regularly be doing my naafils!

 3)    And During My Naafils, Learning More Duas & Surahs: I have heard alternating opinions about holding the Quran while praying in fards and naafils, and I may have used these contradictions as an excuse to just not to do it, so I finally did a little research of my own and feel good about holding the Quran or a copy of Fortress of the Believer while praying my naafils at least and here are some proofs:

Reading from the Mus-haf during an obligatory prayer

What is the ruling on an imam who reads from the Mus-haf when leading prayers in congregation?

Praise be to Allaah. There is nothing wrong with reading Qur’aan from the Mus-haf during a naafil prayer, such as qiyaam al-layl. But in the case of obligatory prayers, it is makrooh to do that, because in most cases there is no need for it. But if there is a need, then there is nothing wrong with reading from the Mus-haf in that case. 

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Mughni, 1/335: 

Ahmad said: There is nothing wrong will leading the people in praying qiyaam whilst looking at the Mus-haf. It was said to him: What about obligatory prayers? He said: I have not heard anything concerning that. Al-Qaadi said: It is makrooh in obligatory prayers, but there is nothing wrong with it in voluntary prayers if one has not memorized (Qur’aan), but if one has memorized Qur’aan then it is also makrooh. He said: Ahmad was asked about leading the prayers whilst reading from the Mus-haf in Ramadaan. He said: If that is necessary (it may be done)… and it was narrated from Ibn Haamid that it is equally permissible in both naafil and obligatory prayers. 

The evidence for it being permissible is the report narrated by Abu Bakr al-Athram and Ibn Abi Dawood with their isnaads from ‘Aa’ishah, according to which she would be led in prayer by a slave of hers who read from the Mus-haf. 

Al-Zuhri was asked about a man who read from the Mus-haf in Ramadaan. He said: The best ones among us used to read from the Mus-hafs… 

Reading from the Mus-haf has been permitted because of the need to listen to the Qur’aan and recite it in night prayers (qiyaam). 

The ruling on it being makrooh applies only to those who have memorized Qur’aan, because they will be needlessly distracted from proper focus in prayer (khushoo’) by that, and from looking at the place of prostration. And it is makrooh in obligatory prayers in general, because usually there is no need for it. 

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Majmoo’ (4/27): 

If a person reads Qur’aan from the Mus-haf, this does not invalidate his prayer, whether he has memorized the Qur’aan or not; in fact that is obligatory if he has not memorized al-Faatihah. 

What we have mentioned, that reading from the Mus-haf does not invalidate the prayer, is our view and the view of Maalik, Abu Yoosuf, Muhammad and Ahmad. 

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Is it permissible for the imam to read from the Mus-haf during the five daily prayers, especially Fajr when lengthy reading is required and there is the fear of making mistakes or forgetting? 

He replied: 

That is permissible if there is a need for it, just as it is permissible to read from the Mus-haf in Taraweeh for one who has not memorized the Qur’aan. Dhakwaan, the freed slave of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) used to lead her in prayer in Ramadaan, reading from the Mus-haf, as was narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh in a mu’allaq majzoom report. It is Sunnah to recite at length in Fajr prayer, so if the imam has not memorized al-Mufassal or anything else from the rest of the Qur’aan, it is permissible for him to recite from the Mus-haf. But it is prescribed for him to strive to memorize the Qur’aan, or at least to memorize al-Mufassal, so that he will not need to read from the Mus-haf. Al-Mufassal refers to the portion of the Qur’aan that starts with Soorat Qaf, up to the end of the Qur’aan. Whoever strives to memorize, Allaah will make it easy for him, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty)”

[al-Talaaq 65:2] 

“And We have indeed made the Qur’aan easy to understand and remember; then is there any one who will remember (or receive admonition)?”

[al-Qamar 54:17] And Allaah is the Source of strength. Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 11/117 

And Allaah knows best…

4)      Tahajudd: I have really neglected my tahajudd the last couple Ramadans. Bebeh #5 is an especially light sleeper and would usually wake if I get up, which means a couple hours of hanging out trying to get her back to sleep. Well, she’s two now and a little more agreeable to hang out with during unreasonable hours, so I feel it is a good time to start doing at least some tahajudds. Currently planning to at least do them before having suhoor on Mondays and Thursdays and possibly on nights when I randomly wake up, which is pretty frequent.

This is a thorough enough list for me to tackle over the coming year, and then next year I shouldn’t even have to make any Ramadan Ibadah Resolutions—so as to avoid a biddah

Ramadhan Melange in Morocco

My family’s relocation from Alaska to Morocco last year should have had me eagerly anticipating my first Ramadhan in a land of the Muslims. However, some technicalities like fasting while exclusively nursing a new baby, while being away from hubby – my constant fasting companion of twelve years – in the parching heat of a foreign country, with family members I didn’t know very well, were not encouraging me to get the holiday giddies. As was planned, my husband and eldest son returned to the States for work leaving me newly expatriated with our four younger homeschooled kids and not knowing what to expect for Ramadhan in Morocco.

“It will be easy. We make it simple,” insisted my sister-in-law, Khadija.

Not that I thought she was lying, but one cook’s idea of simple suppers is another cook’s nightmare of gastronomical endeavours. “We’ll have soup and pancakes,” she said. Now I really didn’t believe her. However, she was not kidding.

Suhoor
I was pleasantly surprised to find the center of our pre-dawn meal
was a burger and milk shake! I had seen heavy meat-based dishes
at countless lavish iftars but at suhoor? However, it certainly made
sense. Meat moves slowly through the digestive system ensuring
gradual release of energy throughout the day. Burgers may not
sound appetizing at four in the morning, but in prior years while
pregnant or nursing during Ramadhan, I had boosted my protein
intake with turkey sandwiches at suhoor. Therfore, for me, turkey
burgers were an easy enough adaption. I was happy to find
avocados on the side. However, those went in the shake! Similar to
using bananas in milkshakes, but with triple the potassium, avocados
also have more good fat than olive oil. Sweetened with a little sugar
avocado milkshakes are creamy, delicious, satisfying, and a common
treat in Morocco.

I learned that burgers may not be on every suhoor table in Morocco,
but another power-packed specialty called sellou likely is. Roasted
almonds, sesame and unbleached flour ground with sugar, spices
such as cinnamon and anise, and loosely bonded with smen
(clarified butter) makes sellou dense in calories, protein and good
fats – just like nutritional bars I had eaten in past Ramadhans. My kids
likened it to “granola” and naturally stirred it into their yogurt whereas
the local people prefer to drizzle honey over its crumbly texture. Our
family’s suhoor is balanced just right to satisfy and nourish us while
keeping shopping, planning and cooking to a minimum.

Iftar
I sheepishly admit that while I was maintaining some kind of a quasiguest status, Khadija did nearly all of the cooking. She served soup
every night, alternating between harira, a Moroccan minestrone-like
soup, and askeef, a traditional Berber hot grain cereal served salty
with olive oil. Also just as Khadija had warned, we did have pancakes
every night. Again alternating nights between behrir – Moroccan
yeasted pancakes, and US traditional style, but never once was there
a drizzle of maple-flavoured syrup. Think of the pancake as the fresh
flipped bread, like crepe, tortilla, injera or roti. Khadijah’s pancakes
were served with spreads and toppings to appease both the sweet
and savoury tooth: spreadable cheeses, bananas, chocolate, fresh
fruit compote, jelly, natural peanut or almond butter, and melted
butter mixed with honey.

Normally my in-laws have rejuvenating juices with their iftar, but
because of the high sugar content versus low nutritional value of
juice I preferred to dilute it with water, especially bubbly, or used it
in smoothies. We agreeably switched to the latter – every iftar I made
smoothies or panaché, made from an abundance of local fresh fruits.
A few nights, I cheated by bringing home yummy looking things
from the bakery. In hindsight, the additions were truly a waste, both
of money and food. My in-laws’ rigidly simplistic and unfaltering
Ramadhan menu is so vastly different from the years of both
spontaneous and fastidiously planned feasting my family had
partaken in, both privately and amid Muslim communities in the
United States. However, there is an abundance of wisdom in the diet
based on decades of fasting experience and genuine nutritional
needs. When one’s niyah is to fast all day and complete the entire
recitation of the Qur’an during the nights, it is smart to eat like an
athlete training for a thirty-day marathon.

Looking Forward
There are plans for two new traditions this Ramadhan. I will be doing
half the cooking, and instead of pancakes we will likely be making
bread puddings and frittatas since they can be slipped into the
oven and left behind in the hot kitchen while we go read Qur’an or
distract some little kids who keep demanding to know when we will
eat, again.

Brooke Benoit is an American artist and educator currently living in
Morocco. In the midst of other adventures, she is also experimenting
with new materials in the kitchen, such as slaoui, warqa and raib. She
has chronicled her expat experiences in The Hijrah Diaries for SISTERS Magazine.

~~~

This article originally appearred in the August 2011 issue of SISTERS Magazine–The magazine for fabulous Muslim women! And as planned, I am cooking this year and have added fritatas, bread puddings (croissant, raisins, bananas and chocolate!) and a Morning Glory cake to the iftar table on my nights.