Multivisions Canada

I can't find halal miswak toothpaste anywhere around me so I order it from Montreal. Yeah I know its unbelievable but that's what happens when you live in the boonies. I got my order today from Multivisions and I was so happy to see that he had included a free lecture tape by Yusuf Islam in the package. Years ago I got this company to put on a bookfair at our mosque; they go all across Canada doing this. If you want them to come to your mosque just email him. This month he told me he will insha Allah be coming to the London Mosque now that they have finished expanding it. So if you are in that neck of the woods then do drop by to see his awesome selection;books, clothes, tapes, perfumes, cds etc. and of course toothpaste :)

Fancy Flowers and Oh so good Oatmeal cookies.

Dd3 as well as her brother ds3 and I tried to make these flowers from my daughter's website (dd1) and the only one who really had the knack for it was dd3. We made these out of wallpaper from discontinued books we got from a local store. We intend to use these for Eid. DD1 used post it notes for hers but with our wallpaper dd3 is very impressed with how shiny ours turned out.

Ds3 got a craving for oatmeal and raisin cookies so made up a batch of these yummy specimens.

Cream Puffs

Dd3 made these lovely cream puffs.

Perfect Play House part 2

From a dream to reality;the playhouse is being built as we speak. On Saturday we bought the wood and yesterday the floor and one wall were built. Meanwhile the kids had dreams of thier own. DD3 wants to do interior decorating (painting or wallpapering or both) while DS4 is planning on adding electricity so he can play video games. I told him no way! Dh says the house will not be too fancy as that would entail more costs but with  a little imagination the kids will be on thier way. This is the third playhouse that dh has built over the years. The last one was 10 yrs ago before we went to Malaysia. The first one was played in by DS1 and DD1 and DD2. The next door neighbour copied our idea but made it even better; was dd2 ever mad when thier house had real windows and hers didn't! The second one was even bigger and had two levels! Alas both these were sold long ago since we moved from both places. This one will be enjoyed by ds2,ds3,dd3,ds4,dd4,ds5 and dd5 not to mention gd1 (granddaughter). The ad is of a book we have been using for ideas.

Just a reminder- August Book Club Pick

Ramadan is just around the corner. I know everyone is busy but for this month I have chosen a great book called Ameenah's Ramadan Diary. This should be quite refreshing after the last 3 books...sigh. Insha Allah we will be inspired to be better muslims and take full benefit from this blessed month. Here are some extracts from the book.

10 Things I Hate About Me

Perhaps I should call this post 10 Things I Hate About This Book! So basically the last 3 books I've chosen have been about non-practicing muslims. Hmmm...could that be the reason they are so accessible (at the library and through scholastic)? The books about devout muslims always have to be ordered from Islamic bookstores. At least that's been my experience except for little kids books which I can find at my library. The first thing I hated was how her brother got to do whatever he wanted but not her. Of course this is mostly culture. I wouldn't want the girl doing the haram things either though. But you should have the freedom to do the halal.  The second thing was how could an Islamic school promote a mixed band with instruments? Sounds like the islamic school my kids go to (friday night -2 hour classes). Third thing,why did the dad give up a great job just so he could live in the city and drive a taxi? Was it for the sake of Islam? I would have sided with him if it had been. And how about the food wastage " Shereen gets pretty upset about the fact that so much food goes to waste when there are people starving in the world. She's quite right, but its a habit entrenched in Arabic culture and Aunt Sowsan would consider herself to be dishonoring her guests if she didn't make such an exhorbitant amount" Speaking about food why is she working at Mcdonald's and dealing with pork? There are lots of places to work so why do muslims keep picking the non-halal choices?  What do I especially hate? At the end of the book where she is supposed to be reconciling her two worlds (non islamic and islamic) the only thing she really embraces is her Lebanese culture. Big deal she starts playing Lebanese music in front of her classmates. This is not being a muslim! At least she doesn't end up dating anyone though. What do I like about this book? I like her sister who tries hard to follow islam and I like Timothy who stands up for himself. If Jamilah had these two traits she'd be on her way. I was expecting at the end of the story that she would at the very least dye her hair back and take out the contacts but alas she couldn't even do that simple thing. Muslims like these are the ones that give Islam a bad name. Like one of the characters in the book says non-muslims are not impressed with Muslims who try to fit in. I know, I for one, was very disgusted with them and their hypocrisy when I was Christian. Is Islam doable? Yes! But these kinds of muslims lead people to believe that Islam is an impossible religion to follow when it is not.

London Mosque Grand Opening - Ladies Night

After years of renovating and extending the masjid in London, it will finally be opened in August. No more prayers being said in the Islamic school and no more outdoor iftars. Ladies come out and see the new digs, masha Allah.

Assalamu Alaikum Dear Sisters,

 

Please mark you calendars.

InshaAllah the London Muslim Mosque will be opening next week.

The MOC would like to invite you to the

 

Grand Opening

Special Ladies Event

on

Friday, August 6, 2010

7pm to 9pm

 

*Join us for a tour of the facilities

*Babysitting will be provided

*The mosque will be wheelchair accessible

*Refreshements will be provided

Kudos to Canadian Living Magazine -islamic debit card

In the August issue, Canadian Living magazine mentioned the new ifreedom Mastercard debit card which was made for muslims wishing to avoid interest bearing credit cards. I was amazed to see the magazine show something islamic. Magazines usually ignore us even during our holiday times; no fancy recipes for us! On the downside though, my daughter (dd2) applied for this card at MuslimFest last year and still has not recieved her card. I hope they get thier act together fast and then maybe I'll get one too, insha Allah.

Islam Meets Reality TV in Malaysia

Malaysia has a new show on Astro about young imams competing to be the best imam. Imagine a reality show with an islamic twist. Read the article here. You can also see the youtube videos with english translations for some of the episodes on kakchik's blog here. I really applaud Malaysia for taking this wonderful step in promoting imamhood.

Grabbing a dawah opportunity.

Dd2 noticed on someone' s FB profile here in town that they were talking about the Palestinian issue. As this was a non-muslim my daughter was intrigued and contacted them to see if they would be interested in any books about Islam. They were and I gave her 3 books including the Quran and some pamphets to be passed on. They wanted to return the books after reading them but I don't want them as they are better put to use by other interested souls that they might know. Its been awhile since I've done any dawah so I was very glad for the opportunity. Masha Allah.

Rate your city!

I've been thinking about this for a long time;where is the best city in CANADA for Muslims. I always think its Toronto or its environs but some think differently. So here's your chance to rate your city. Feel free to answer anonymously with your town or city name.

Please give yourself one point for each positive feature of your area.

1. We have a mosque.
2. Our mosque has an imam.
3. Our mosque has learning activities for all ages ie Quran lessons, arabic, halaqua etc
4. Our mosque has convert classes.
5. We have a halal meat store or access to halal meat.
6. We have an islamic bookstore.
7. We have an islamic clothing store.
8. We have muslim social workers.
9. Islamic conferences take place here.
10. We have islamic charities to help local muslims ie food bank.
11. Muslims here are friends for the sake of Allah and not based on race or ethnicity.
12. Our mosque allows me to volunteer and make recommendations and changes.
13. Our mosque does dawah.
14. Our city has halal restaurants.
15. NEW. Our city has an islamic school.

As for where we live(actually 45 minutes away) there is only one thing; a mosque. How sad is that? So the rating is 1/13. Oh and a tiny selection of halal meat ie boxed meat. We also have 1 or 2 halal restaurants..this is very new. I forgot to add that soon a nearby town will be opening an islamic school. Looks expensive though.

November Book Club Pick

This was supposed to be for September but won't be out till Oct 12th insha Allah so it has become the new November book club pick.