Update: July 31, 2011

Assalamu alaykum and hello!

Well, it’s finally here: Ramadan! Well, almost. Not quite yet.

This time of year holds a special meaning for all Muslims in every corner of the globe. Many look forward to this particular month, and the excitement climbs more and more as it approaches. Ramadan is a time for Muslims to improve themselves in their deen and do all they can to draw closer to Allah subhana wa ta'ala. It’s a month filled with studying, praying, worshiping of all kinds, and of course fasting. To top it off, Ramadan ends with ‘Eid al-Fitr, a huge festival celebrating the breaking of the fast.

However, while Ramadan has the same importance to me as it does the average Muslim, it is also a special time for me beyond that. Four years ago, I was sitting on my bed. It was then that I said the shahadah, the words that made me a Muslim. The next morning, I excitedly told a Muslim acquaintance in an email that I had converted. He congratulated me before informing me that Ramadan had started. It was the next year before I realized I had coincidently converted the night of Ramadan. Thus you can see why, beyond the usual reasons, Ramadan is a special time for me.

Therefore, whenever Ramadan comes around, I have a strong urge to better myself, mainly from a spiritual and religious aspect, but in others as well. And this blog is one of those areas I feel I need to devote more time to. To some, this blog may be more than a plain ‘ole blog. Since I’ve started blogging, it’s evolved into a way of daw’ah, or preaching about Islam. Of course, not all of the content on my blog can be classified as daw’ah, but the little that is benefits me. I’m speaking about Islam and Muslims…and the truth, not the fairy tales Western media feeds us. So why am I not blogging more? Good question.

Unfortunately, over the last several months, I haven’t gotten around to giving as much attention to ‘The Story of a Muslim Convert’ as I would have liked to. Especially in the last month or two. I know I’ve said several times in the recent past that I would return to posting regularly only to have that plan (or those plans rather) fall flat. But, this is Ramadan, insha’Allah a new start so to speak.

And thus from today, insha’Allah I will be posting every day. Already there is a new post every day: Daily Qur’an and Hadith, which has continued even when I didn’t get around to following through on my plans. But I’m speaking of the main content, the posts you all (hopefully) come to read, those Sunday-through-Thursday posts. I’ll finish off the week with the Friday update and ‘Islam in the News’ on Saturday, a new addition I’m eager to work on.

So, wish me luck as I return to blogging regularly insha’Allah. Remember, you’re always free to leave comments or send me an email! Enjoy!

Iman

Weekly Update: July 8, 2011

Assalamu alaykum and hello!

Finally! I’m ready to begin blogging regularly again insha’Allah. It only took three or four weeks to reach this point!

I received my work schedule for the month so I was able to create a schedule, which includes plenty of time for writing and blogging. I’m still short on motivation, but that’s always been an issue so I’ll just have to return to forcing myself to write something every day. Truthfully, it isn’t that hard to do.

And, while I adore my uncle and his family, I’m happy they’re finally gone after almost two weeks. The resulting peace and quiet makes it easier to sit down and blog. Now I have my room, and thus my writing space, back. It’s awfully hard to write when I don’t have a desk. Well, I still don’t have a desk, but sitting on the floor at a coffee table works just as well I suppose.

I probably won’t get around to posting anything this weekend, but insha’Allah come Monday I’ll begin posting daily. Expect a post every day, around 6 pm or 7 pm my time (time zone: CDT or UTC -06:00).

I’m not sure which topics will come up this week although I do have some ideas. First there’s a post I’ve been meaning to write for some time about my experiences with wearing a hijab. Also, I’ve received plenty of questions about my religion since arriving in Sioux Falls, which I think will be the subject of a future post insha’Allah. There are a few other ideas I have as well, not sure what I’ll get to and what I’ll actually write.

‘Daily Qur’an and Hadith’ is still in the works. I haven’t had a chance to create weekly stocks so I can resume posting DQH. I’m hoping I can persuade myself to spend a couple hours working on those posts sometime this weekend insha’Allah. I don’t have anything better to do other than sit in the basement and watch write or read.

I’ve also been considering starting a weekly post called ‘Islam in the News.’ Several of the people/groups/organizations I follow on Twitter often post news articles about Islam, mainly from the US but from all over the world as well. Over the week I would select several of these articles as well as articles I find myself. Then on Saturday, I would publish a post with links to the chosen articles as well as maybe the first paragraph or so. There’s really no reason why I would like to do this; truthfully, I just wants something easy to do for the weekends rather than not posting anything.

So, I believe that is all for this week. Hopefully I can finally get around to posting daily again insha’Allah!

Have a good weekend and an upcoming week!

Iman

What's Wrong with Her Head?

One of the first things I had to do upon returning to the US was find a job. Unfortunately money doesn’t grow on trees, and I can’t really be a mooch all my life. The only option left was to start working. I was worried I wouldn’t find anything, but Alhamdulillah I managed to get a job working at the same place my grandmother and aunt work at.

Today was my first day of work. My position is a laundry assistant at a nursing home. Not just a nursing home but a religiously affiliated nursing home: Lutheran, which is a Protestant Christian religion for those who have never heard of Lutheranism. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue in a large, ethnically diverse city. However, no cities in South Dakota are really ethnically diverse. Most people are Christian and the community I’m living in is no different.

So I was a bit hesitant about working at a Lutheran nursing home filled with older people. If I wasn’t wearing a hijab, no one would know if I were Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, or whatever. But with the hijab on, it’s a bit obvious (although I did have someone once ask if I were a nun…this is why I never wear a white underscarf with a black scarf). I don’t want to add to stereotypes, but my experience is the elderly are less accepting of different people, especially when it comes to religion. Of course there are always exceptions Alhamdulillah.

Originally I figured I wouldn’t have much to do with the residents. If I was washing, drying, and folding laundry, how often would I really interact with any of the residents? I was happy to find out on my first day that I wouldn’t have to collect dirty laundry, but then I found out I would have to bring residents their personal laundry. Even as a laundry assistant, I’ll have to work with the residents of the nursing home.

Like I was saying, I was hesitant about working with elderly people in a Christian setting. What sort of questions would they ask? Would any of them comment, positively or negatively, on my wearing a hijab? Would any of them be rude to me?

Alhamdulillah my hesitation was for nothing. There were plenty of stares and double takes. I would be crazy to expect otherwise. Most of these people have probably never seen a Muslim despite a population of 3000 in the city. And the Muslim hijab is normally much different from what nuns wear, a common site in this city.

There was only one comment directed towards what I was wearing, namely the hijab. I was following my trainer to restock a linen closet with sheets, towels, and the like. To get to the linen closet, we had to pass through a dining/living area which at that time of the day was full of residents eating and/or watching TV. As we walked through, a little old lady turned to another lady sitting beside her and asked, not at all quietly, ‘What’s wrong with her head?’

Now, it could have been worse. I mean, this wasn’t an Islamicphobically fueled question. It was simply an old lady wondering why my head was wrapped in white cloth. Maybe she had never seen a women wearing a hijab or maybe she didn’t even know what a hijab was. I wished the trainer hadn’t been in such a hurry so I could stop and talk to this questioner. But maybe there will be another time in the future.

Beyond a few stares and an old lady asking what was wrong with my head, there weren’t any other issues arising from the sight of me in a hijab. The few times I did interact with residents went well. They thanked me warmly as I placed their clothes in their dresser drawers, most with a smile on their faces. Others asked how I was doing and wished me a good day when I left their room.

Overall, my first day on the job went well Alhamdulillah. I don’t foresee any issues over hijab in the future although there may be some questions here and there. Most of the elderly are friendly and enjoy a bit of chit chat with anyone, regardless of his/her religion. And even if they do pass a sharp comment every so often, sometimes it’s the disease or age speaking, not the person themselves. Regardless, it always gives me hope to see there are some people in this world, in this country, even in this small-town American city, who do not hate Muslims with a vengeance.

Welcome to the 'New' Blog

Assalamu alaykum and hello!

You may have noticed a few differences when you stopped by ‘The Story of a Muslim Convert.’ Some of you may have been expecting this thanks to a quick update on the ‘old’ blog site – which is actually the same site. I was planning on changing the email address/Google account associated with the blog, but it would have been tough and I don’t think I could keep the URL. So the site stayed.

But as you’ve probably noticed, the visual aspect of the blog has changed: the background, the font colors, the layout, and so on. The background image is a stunning sunset over Lahore’s Badshahi Masjid, my second favorite masjid in the world (third only to Masjid al-Haram in Makkah and al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Madinah of course!). The design of the blog followed from there as I chose colors that worked well with the colors of the background. Rather than sticking with the previous layout, I chose to go with something new…change is nice sometimes.

One day in the near future insha’Allah ‘Daily Qur’an and Hadith’ will be returning. And insha’Allah soon I’ll get back to posting daily with updates every Friday. It’s hard to say exactly when I’ll actually get back to a regular blogging schedule. The last week or two has been spent job hunting which takes up a lot of time. Then family has been visiting for 10 days which eats up even more time. At least I managed to find a job Alhamdulillah so I won’t be spending any more time job hunting; although, now I have to work a few days a week. After a couple weeks of working, I’m hoping to get a schedule started which will help me get back to blogging regularly.

And I suppose I must admit motivation is lacking right now. I seem to have misplaced it but the good news is I’m currently looking for it. Not sure when I’ll find it though.

I hope you like the new blog design and layout! Feel free to leave any comments/suggestions!

Iman