Letters to My Daughter

Procrastination. In a word, yes, that is the entire story of my life. May God forgive me for this.. Last night I went to a Islamic Finance event at Columbia University. I learned how many of my perceptions of the socioreligious movement/sector/industry were misinformed, ironically, by the last Islamic Finance event I attended at NYU Stern two years ago. At this particular moment in history, I can understand the necessity of welding ethics and financial institutions together. People have to believe in the institutions they adhere to. It is critical to understand capitalism as a global citizen and student. I am pretty sure Adam Smith would be furious with the excesses we've created in our free market system; yet understanding what currently exists is incredibly important. Last night, I was also reminded of how good it is to have friends! I'm sure that is a no brainer for most people with social lives, but I turn on and off my social activities depending on necessity and my schedu...

Today I received an email about a woman I have never met, a child I will never get to meet, and a family in despair. I learned of a woman with brain cancer, whose baby died. I have not met Fatima Qasim but I believe in the Mercy of God. That in this pain, grief and sadness, there is also mercy. I believe in the Mercy of God who allows good people to fall sick, to die. I believe in the Mercy of God who allows us to veer so terribly off the course that we can hardly recognize ourselves. I believe in the Mercy of God despite the harm we inflict on our selves, our bodies, and our families. I believe in the Mercy of God to purify our hearts, to remove the blackness that grows like mold. I believe in the Mercy of God who solves all problems, and creates so many more problems for us to solve. I cannot understand why I am crying for a woman I have never met, but I believe in the Mercy of God who reminds me of who I am. I believe in the Mercy of God who allows a young woman my age to survive tr...

Life is about the routines, the behaviors that you perform each and every day. I believe its important to act on the values that you have, to instill in yourself the acts that will bring you towards a larger goal. For most people today, there is no larger goal. Life is a set of routines: wake up, go to work, eat, sleep, shower, pray. Does one act mean more than another? Sure, depending on what your values are, certain acts are more meaningful than others. Each individual has a set of values that she enacts in her routine. In the routine, I find that certain values are not being played out. I find that certain values are absent and that if anything, I am in trouble because I have not delivered on what I had promised. I am not holding up to my side of the bargain. In those instances, I am deceiving myself. I am annoyed with the endless tasks to do, and the responsibility of it all. On one hand, I want total control and responsibility; on the other hand, I wish others would just "tak...

Some days, I wish I could disappear. I wish I would access to the opportunities and freedom to live independently, to make independent choices, to have the option to choose how to spend my morning. There are days I wish I could book a flight and fly to another part of the country, another part of the world for work, or for pleasure, for necessity, for any reason at all just because I was an independent woman. I am not an independent woman. I am "tethered" to a house and a family in suburban New Jersey. There are days I like being tethered and then there are days that I wish I could be tethered elsewhere, and be more selective about who I am tethered to. I am surprised by the lack of possibility that exists for me now. I miss the urban sprawl of my life, though I admire the many advantages to a clean, noise-free, isolating life of suburbia. I am quickly becoming a woman gone to waste. I am highly dissatisfied certain mornings when the first thing I have to do is clean up after...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 25, 2009 Statement by the President on Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha "Michelle and I would like to send our best wishes to all those performing Hajj this year, and to Muslims in America and around the world who are celebrating Eid-ul-Adha. The rituals of Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha both serve as reminders of the shared Abrahamic roots of three of the world's major religions. During Hajj, the world's largest and most diverse gathering, three million Muslims from all walks of life - including thousands of American Muslims - will stand in prayer on Mount Arafat. The following day, Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid-ul-Adha and distribute food to the less fortunate to commemorate Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son out of obedience to God. This year, I am pleased that the Department of Health and Human Services has partnered with the Saudi Health Ministry to prevent and limit the spread of H1N1 during Hajj. Cooperating on combating H1N1 ...

In todays NYT article , the story of Sarah Gellert is proof of the importance of remaining positive in difficult times. Gellert, who lived through multiple wars, economic downturns, epidemics, deaths, divorce, and the rest of it, now describes everything as "wonderful." She probably described everything as wonderful in her youth as well. She was born in 1910, and has witnessed the problem of evil multiple times in her life. Yet she chooses to remain resolute. I find her extraordinary. I would like to share this story with my grandpa, who is quintessentially a pessimist, and may even personify the Problem of Evil himself. He loves to accuse everyone of wrong, refuses to apologize, and has no appreciation for anyone or anything. He is difficult to be with, especially when he badmouths people you love with no thought to consequence. I think I am going to create a list of articles for my Nani to read. I want to give her the gift of the internet, and write her a letter describing...

My room, my mind, and the rest of my world is slightly upside down. I have lost, regained, and then lost again my perspective. I am not sure what the source of the conflict is, but I have some ideas about how to solve the problem, even if I don't know what the source is, I believe I can treat the symptoms. Today I found a banana in my bed. I am not sure how many days the banana was there. I had a banana in my purse, and the purse on my bed, and the contents of my purse somehow between my sheets. Also on the bed were folded clothes that have not made it into their proper chest of drawers. I have papers to be filed. Notebooks and papers are piled up on every available surface, including my desk. A banana in my bed means something about my state of mind, physical and otherwise. I am going away this weekend, so everything must be perfect before I leave. Food cooked, house vacuumed, clothes washed, bathroom decent. And of course there is packing to do; studying to finish; overdue librar...