Reluctant Expatriate

Secret Investment with Long and Short Term Gains for Muslims

2010-08-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

I can use this money to take my family for a much-deserved holiday or use as down payment for a nice car or contribute to college fund for my kids or add to my retirement savings. All these kind thoughts have tormented me in the last few days. I have gone thru this painful assessment whenever I have to make a donation to a charity. I also, research to death about the organization to which I intend to donate and always look for their shortcomings and failures rather than their successes and wonderful work they have done. In fact I am looking for a way out for not making a donation.

I believe one of the reasons for my shortcomings is the way we are brought up in our countries of origin in the Middle East and East Asia. In these countries there is no tradition to donate to charitable organizations. There is a mistrust of charitable organizations and rightfully so based on their record. Most of the organizations in our countries of origin are either corrupt or use the money to advance their personal agenda. Therefore, instead of developing and nourishing charitable organizations, vast majority of the populace use private means to hand out charity. This practice has continued in our adopted countries in the West. This is why the Zakat contributions to Muslim charitable organizations are dismal. Everyone either uses private means to dispense charity. There are a handful of Muslim charities among the thousands of charities listed on the United Way Campaign. In addition, those charities that are listed give up because lack of participation and donations.

Parental influence and their practical demonstration of giving charity has a strong influence of how their offspring behave later. Recently, I met some one who told me that the reasons he started helping in construction or maintenance of mosques was the memory of his father walking door to door in the streets of an affluent neighborhood of Karachi to collect funds for a new mosque construction. He remembered how the dogs and security guards chased his father out of different houses but he persevered. The mosque his father helped build is now a vibrant institution. He wanted to emulate his father and was able to resist all the resistance and criticism of his fellow Muslims and local governments and organizations in doing so.

Private means to distribute charity is an age-old tradition among the Muslims based on the examples prophet Mohammad pbuh and the four Caliphs after him. However, I do not believe that these traditions or Quran have any advice against giving out charity to organizations. In fact, in early history of Islam, Zakat organizations were organized and sponsored by the state. The Quran states, “Those who spend their possessions (for the sake of God) by night and day, secretly and openly, shall have their reward with their Sustainer, (2-274),”

Another bad habit I have when I donate clothing and furniture for charity is that I only donate it when it is in a bad shape. One local Muslim aid organization told me that they have to dump a large proportion of clothes that they receive because they are usually unwashed, dirty, and cannot be worn. This adds to the organizations expenses instead of help they request.

Having gone over different aspects of giving charity, I want to share how I overcome my fears and thoughts to write out that check. I have had first hand experience of what God has promised in Quran, which states, “Satan threatens you with prospect of poverty and bids you to be niggardly, whereas god promises His forgiveness and bounty, and God is infinite, all knowing (2-268). I remember that after my sizable contribution to charity, I got more money than I contributed from a source of which I had never thought of or contemplated. This reinforced my belief in what Quaran states, “The parable of those who spend their possessions for the sake of God is that of a grain out of which grow seven ears, in every ear a hundred grain; for God grants manifold increase unto, whom He wills, and God is infinite, all knowing (2-261).” Of course, I am not a saint, and some time I fail but I am still trying to overcome the fear of poverty and desire to spend the money on expensive holidays and things.

The best part of writing that check is the great relief and happiness you get afterwards which is hard to describe. I hope this personal narrative helps some one like me to overcome the fear of giving and may Allah forgives me to be so open about it. I hope my intentions are correct. If it helps some one, please pray for me in this month of Ramadan. I still believe that charity is the best-kept secret for long term and short term gains which we under utilize.

Tibet Tootpaste and Root Canal

2010-07-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

Last week I went to the dentist to get a root canal for one my tooth. It cost me more than $1000.0 or about one lakh Pakistani Rupees. This does not include the crown for the tooth which will cost another $800.00. This is still cheap because the dentist who is a fellow Pakistani with a degree in dentistry from Punjab University gave me a discount.

On the way back from the dentist, I started reminiscing about the first toot paste, and how valuable, it was to me. More than 50 years ago, when I was in the elementary school, I got my own Tibet toothpaste. I still remember saving money for it and going frequently to the general store to check the prices of the toothpaste. The Tibet toothpaste was the cheapest because it was made in Pakistan while the Kolynos toothpaste was foreign made cost more than twice the Tibet toothpaste. Finally, I had saved up about three rupees and went to different stores to check prices and found the best deal. I proudly brought my toothpaste and used it instead of the tooth powder or Churan or powdered charcoal to clean my teeth.

Of course my teeth survived well even after the bad dental care during childhood because we did not have access to candies, sweets, and cakes as the Americans kids do these days. They end up costing their parents a lot of money with dentists and orthodontists. However, the neglect for the teeth finally catch up with me when I was in Medina, Saudi Arabia, in 1968. The throbbing pain necessitated that I visit an Arab dentist.

I still shudder when I remember how this Arab dentist treated me. He had a drill just like the electric drill I bought from Home Depot to drill holes in the wall and wood. It was menacing and bulky. He drilled several of my tooth to fill cavities which brought timely relief. Of course it did not last long because a few months after the pain reappeared while I was a student in England. I and the dentist took full advantage of my student status and National Health Service to remove the cavities filled by the Arab dentist and insert new material. The dentist also removed my wisdom teeth; however, he was unsuccessful in removing one of badly placed molar and broke it. He left the broken piece under the gums and said that it will be OK for the next 20 years.

Having realized the importance of healthy teeth, I tried to keep hygiene thereafter. This ended when playing racquetball at a remote campsite, I broke my front tooth by hit from my own racket. Of course, every one in the camp thought, including my wife and kids, thought that I had a fight in the bar. It took several days to find a Korean dentist in the nearest town 60 miles away and travel there to get tooth fixed using special crazy glue type of adhesive and adding additional material. Of course, the repaired tooth has broken two times since then in the last 15 years. The last time the dentist told me that if it breaks again, I will need root canal and crown job.

The recent need for the root canal started while I was in Phoenix on a business trip. The pain started again. I remembered the words of one of niece's husband that our Sheikh family is so large that wherever you go in the world in different continents, you can find a relative. Therefore, I looked up for one of my distant relatives Dr. Shafi who is a dentist and practice in Phoenix area. However, with the pressure of time and not to embarrass myself in visiting his surgery in time of need, I flew back home to Washington DC area.

Once in my own home town, I used all the connections to get treatment fast. I called up the young dentist Saba Elahi who is a relative and whom I have seen grow up as a child. She was busy but checked me out during her lunch hour. She provide temporary relief and medicine. Thereafter another dentist Noor Imtiaz took over and did the root canal on an accelerated schedule.

This brings me back to the cost of my Tibet toothpaste and root canal treatment. The cost of the root canal is about 100,000 times more than the toothpaste. How the age and time leaves you with stories you want to tell but no one wants to listen; therefore, you put them on your blog.

Body Language

2010-07-31T13:50:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, I attended the marriage and Valima ceremeonies of the son of a dear friend. My friend's son and his bride are very pious and subscribe to the Salafi school. Therefore, the gathering during the both ceremonies was divided into male and female sections which were completely separated (sealed) from each other.

Both ceremonies main event was a speech by an Imam. I was lucky to be in the male section, because the poor women could only hear his voice. As is the case in such gatherings, the women did not pay much attention to the speech and carried on with their own conversations about clothes, jewelery, and kids. This bothered the groom's sister, who asked the Imam to announce that women should be silent and attentive to his words of wisdom.

There is ammple scientific research and data that has determined that words only count 7 percent of the total communication. The remaining 93 percent of the message is the non verbal and involves body language, eye contact, and delivery. In addition, research has shown that no human being has attention span for a speech of more than 20 minutes. Therefore, I wondered if the reason for the women for not paying attention was lack of visual contact and access to body language. In addition, the same Imam on both days went on for about 40 minutes and were holding the guests from the festive and expensive dinner at a world class hotel until 10:00 PM. I could see that most of the persons in the male section had tuned out the message from the Imam and were looking at their watches or fiddling with their cell phones.

This made me wonder who is responsible for such an ineffective communication on such a special and festive occasion. I know that some persons will blame me for this write-up but we have to own our problems and deficiencies before we can solve the Muslim communities deep rooted problems. We cannot continue with a similar approach in our religious institutions and let the young men and women walk away from real Islam. The first an easiest solution is for the speaker be asked to view his video taped presentation. In addition. even in separate gatherings there should be video transmitted by a large TV from the mens section to the women section.

Shariah, Fiqh, and Fatwah

2009-10-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

Talibans and Al-Qaida and their supporters talk about implementing Shariah law. Therefore, I looked up Shariah's definition in Jasser Auda's book, "Maqasid Al-Shariah As Philosophy of Islamic Law, A System's Approach." Mr. Auda is a contemporary Islamic scholar who has a Ph.D. in System Analysis from University of Waterloo, Masters in Islamic Jurisprudence from Islamic University in Michigan, and Ph.D. in Religion and Islamic Studies from University of Wales, U.K. He is well versed both in science and religion, a rare commodity these days in the age of secular Muslims and Mullas of Islamic world. Mr. Auda quotes Ibn al-Qayyim, a noted Islamic scholar of 14th century (d 1347 CE) as follows:

"Shari'ah is based on wisdom and achieving people's welfare in this life and the afterlife. Shariah is all about justice, mercy, wisdom, and good. Thus any ruling that replaces justice with injustice, mercy with its opposite, common good with mischief, or wisdom with nonsense, is a ruling that does not belong to the Shariah, even if it is claimed to be so according to some interpretation."

Mr. Auda also defines the terms Shariah, Fiqh, and Fatwah which are commonly misunderstood as follows:

1. Shariah
The revelation that Prophet Mohammad (SAAS) had received and made practicing it the message and mission of his life, i.e. the Quran and Prophet tradition.
2. Fiqh
The huge collection of judicial opinions that were given by various jurists from various schools of thought, in regards to the application of shariah to their various real life situations throughout the past 14 centuries.
3. Fatwa
The application of shariah or fiqh to Muslims' real life today.

Fiqh cannot be considered Islamic law in all instances, because each scholar did judicial reasoning for their own environments and times. Fatwa cannot be always considered as Islamic law. If the fatwa is copied verbatim from some classic book in the Islamic law, then it is quite possibly flawed because it is quite probably addressing a different world with different circumstances. If the fatwa is allowing people to commit an act of injustice, discrimination, harm, or immorality, even if it were to be based on interpretation, then it is also wrong and un-Islamic.

Based on the above discussion by Mr. Auda, I believe that some of the Fatwas issued by so called Imams or Mullas may not be acceptable. Case in point, the treatment of women and not allowing them to study or justification for suicide bombings by innocent youth convinced by their Imams Fatwas.

Mosques and Bathrooms

2009-09-19T04:12:00.000-07:00

Over the years I have visited mosques in Makkah, Medina, Riyadh, Pakistan, England, Spain, and USA. Invariably, I found the cleanliness of the bathrooms much to be desired. Now I make sure that I do not have to use the bathroom in a mosque. If I am traveling, I may even stop at McDonald or Starbucks to do the wadu or use the toilet facilities before I go to the mosque.

It is so discouraging to see Muslims dressed in their best clothes come to the mosque and then how they treat the bathrooms and wadu areas. They leave water all over including the toilet seats and wadu area seats. They litter the place with toilet papers, coffee cups, stones etc. Some of these things block the toilets which eventually cause huge disruption and inconvenience to the organizers.

I always wonder why the mosque establishments and Imams do not come and address this issue in their speeches and comments. We always talk that Islam teaches you be clean and their are laws and regulations specified in the Quran about cleanliness, I do not why we do not practice them when it comes to the bathrooms. At times, I am tempted to post a rude note in the mosque which says, "Please clean the bathroom area after you finished unless your mother is going to come afterwards to clean it." In Pakistan, I will modify the note to say, "please clean after yourself unless you have arranged for your christian maid to clean after you."

The worst experience about bathrooms I have encountered is when I fly into Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. The plane bathrooms are usually in a terrible shape and not accessible. The dirty water from the bathroom flows out of the bathroom on to the plane seating area. I learned my lesson the first time I went for Umrah flying from Cairo to Jeddah. There was no way I could go the bathroom and change clothes and wear Ihram. I now tell everyone to wear Ihram before you board the plane when traveling to Saudi Arabia.

I believe, we need to have a training for bathroom use every few months in each mosque. In addition, in Pakistan, every one who is flying out of country first time should be asked to take one day course on things to watch for overseas. When I lived in Korea some 20 years back, the government will not issue a passport until the applicant has taken such a course.

What They Do NoT Preach in the Mosque

2009-09-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

"If you avoid the great sins, which you have been enjoined to shun, We shall efface your (minor) bad deeds, and shall cause you to enter an abode of glory." Chapter 4, Verse 31. Then how come preachers in the mosque talk about things length of the pant should be above the ankles, which step should be placed first when you enter in the mosque, type of haircuts, length of beard, timing for Iftaar and Sehar etc.

These preachers do not tell their so called devout merchants and businessmen that: "O You who have attained the faith| Do not devour one another's possessions wrongfully -not even by way of trade based on mutual agreement." Chapter 4, Verse 29. These merchants and businessmen in Pakistan inflate the prices of commodities required by common man during Ramadan and charge ridiculous profits of 100 to 300 percent. The same merchants in USA sell halal meat products at the double the price of non-zebiiyah products at the super market. I know from experience that it does not cost 100 percent more to procure zebiyah meat. Costco Warehouse profit margin is uniform 12 percent.

Town Hall Meeting with Pakistani Ambassador, Hussain Haqqani

2009-06-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

On June 20, 2009, I attended a town hall meeting addressed by Mr. Hussain Haqqani, the Pakistan's Ambassador to USA. The meeting was arranged by Pakistani Diaspora living in Washington DC metro area. Since it was the first time a Pakistani Ambassador in USA was coming out of his cocoon in the last 15 years to meet Pakistani expatriates, I decided to go and listen to his words of wisdom.

Before going to the event, I decided to check Mr. Haqqani's bio on the internet. I found out that before his appointment he was an associate professor at Boston University and has been a TV show host, author, and columnist. However, the item that caught my eye was that he was a minister or ambassador when Mr. Nawaz Sharif of Muslim Leaugue and Ms Benazir Bhutto of People Party was prime minsiters of Pakistan. This is an incredible since both parties have completely different agenda. Obviously, this raises questions about his integrity and in Pakistani terms he can be considered a great Chamcha or Lota.

I was presently surprised by his speech at town hall meeting. He seems like a person with good analaytical and verbal communication skills. His central theme revolved around three points. Pakistan needs to fight terrorism, allow democracy to flourish even though some of the current leaders may be corrupt, and educate the 58 percent of the kids who go to school and the remaining 42 percent who do not to a suitable curriculum whic does not brainwash them about hate and extermism.

His speech was followed by question and answer session. As expected from the Pakistani expatriate audience who belong to the so called educated upper middle class, the questions were about how to tackle Talibans and Al Qaida, corruption and accountability, and leadership of the two main political parties which does not change. Mr. Haqqani was very eloquent in his answers. He stated you can make changes by working within the system. However, I was surprised that there was no discussion about the econmic disparity between the rich and poor. While the avreage sons and daughters of the army generals, corrupt breaucrats, and feudal elites go and study in elite private schools and then sent overseas to USA or UK universities spending $50,000.00 per year, the average Pakistani kid in the village can only to the Madrassas run by Talibans or their supporters. Unless this inequity is addressed, Pakistan will never wipe out the Talibans or Al Qaida. The Madarrassas will keep producing more Talibans. With the current president of Pakistan net worth of one billion dolars without ever having worked in his life, the leader of opposition net worth of $700 million, and average net worth of an army general in excess of 8 million dollars, it is apparent to me that the gross ineqity of wealth is the root cause of Talibanisation of Pakistan and it will unfortunately continue towards a violent revolution. I am afraid that Mr. Haqqani either does not understand it or intentionally dismiss this thought because in response to a question he stated that inflation of 20 percent during the last year is of no consequence.

Marriage Between Muslims and Non-Muslims

2009-05-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Recently I watched Dr. Asrar Ahmed answering audience questions on TV in Britain. He is considered to be an expert on Islam and Quran, and has a large following among the elite Pakistanis who are religiously observant. I was amazed by his advice to the audience that in the current environment of the Western countries, it is not advisable even for Muslim men to marry non-Muslims even though it is allowed by the sharia.

Having lived in the West for 40 years now, I reflected on the marriages of some of my friends and relatives who married non-muslims. I did not have to look too far. My two brother in laws married two non-muslims who as I observed intially converted to Islam at the time of marriage with no serious commitment. Both of these women later on became examplary Muslims and raised great Muslim kids (See one of them Kwon Shaikh at a hearing for a Silicon Valley Mosque (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyqjgyzSBj0). They both ended up as principals of Sunday schools of the largest Islamic centers in California. One of them even became the principal of a full time Islamic school. Another of my relative's mom of Christain faith married a fellow Muslim Algerian graduate student. She now runs a much needed community center for Muslims in California. This is the only center that I know of in USA which has a developed a modified 12 step program for alcoholics. Alcoholism is a wide spread among Muslims and the traditional mosques in USA seems to think that it does not exist in the Muslim Americans.

The marriage of Muslim women to non-Muslim men who convert for convenience of getting married has also been beneficial to Muslim community at large. I remember one physcian in Augusta, Georgia who married a fellow Muslim woman physcian. I remember him coming to the mosque every Sunday early in the morning when no one else was there to cut the grass and maitain the lawns. He and his wife later donated one million dollars to the top and famous liberal arts college, Swarthmore, to establish a center of Islamic studies.

I find that in the current climate, it is extremely difficult for young Muslim men and women to get married in USA. The immigrant parents of both the boys and the girls are looking only for physcians and no one else. A quick check of Muslim matrimonial websites and adevertisements in Muslim magazines will confirm this. The mate selection is solely a business proposition. The concept of dowry from the sub-continent is still practiced in USA. However, instead of the money and household goods the dowry is the financial prospects of the groom or the bride. This is specially true of the mothers of the would be grooms and brides. This concept is alien to the young Muslims who are brought up here and want to get married. I believe, we should encourage young Muslim women and men to marry with persons who are different faith but who are willing to convert before the marriage and are of good character.

I summary, I beg to differ with Dr. Asrar Ahmed in this instance.

Graduations

2009-05-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

Forty years ago, I participated in the graduation ceremony at Southampton University in United Kingdom. I do not remember any thing about the the ceremony except that I had to rent a black gown with a blue hood. I wore my black off the shelf interview suit with brown hush puppy shoes over the objections of my sister and brother in law who were my two guests. I was constantly reminded of this bad fashion statement whenever some one saw my only photograph of the event shaking hand with the chancellor of the university in my brown hush puppies. I do not remember who the key note speaker was and what was the subject of his speech.

I found that the things have not changed much in forty years while attending graduation ceremony of one of my relatives who was part of graduating class of the of the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia today. I pity one of the students in the parade who wore light blue trousers. He will be reminded for ever about it future like me.

The only difference this time was that I paid attention was to the speech by 2006 Noble Peace Prize reciepient, Dr Younus of Bengladesh. He described the history of Garmin bank and how it changed the lives of millions in Bengladesh and several other countries. He advised the freshly minted MBAs from the world's top most institution that they should try do things contrary to traditions. He stated that while the large banks have gone bankrupt by lending to rich people with lot of collateral and written deeds drafted by lawyers, the Garmin Bank remains solvent becuase it lends to poor women who are not considered credit worthy by big banks. The remarakable thing about Garmin bank is that it started with a total capital of $27, and by now has lent more than a billion dollars around the world without paperwork and lawyers.

Dr. Younus told the graduates that making money in itself should not be an end but a means to bring a social change in the society. I sat there and wondered how many of the 890 freshly minted MBAs will follow his advice since they spent $200K in fees and expenses to buy the MBA degree from Wharton. They have to repay the loans for years and will start chasing money at all costs. The sad part is that 45 percent of these MBAs do not have a job yet due to the financial crises created mostly by MBAs who graduated over the years. I consider myself lucky since I bought a graduate degree in engineering from Southampton for a meagre 400 dollars which is worth today about $3000 accounting for inflation over 40 years. The return on this investment of $400 over forty years is better than any of the top performing stocks or mutual funds.

Quran's Guidance About Interpersonal Relations

2009-05-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

Translation of a portion of Chapter 46 of the Quran

049.011

O you who believe! let not (one) people laugh at (another) people perchance they may be better than they, nor let women (laugh) at (other) women, perchance they may be better than they; and do not find fault with your own people nor call one another by nicknames; evil is a bad name after faith, and whoever does not turn, these it is that are the unjust.

049.012

O you who believe! avoid most of suspicion, for surely suspicion in some cases is a sin, and do not spy nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, surely Allah is Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful.

049.013
O you men! surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other; surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty); surely Allah is Knowing, Aware.

We all have committed sins by backbiting. I hope and pray that I can change my habits.

Cars and Drivers

2009-02-20T18:47:00.000-08:00

The other day, while driving on lonely country road in Maryland in my prized Lexus with seat warmers, GPS, and other gadgets, I started reminiscing about my first experience of driving a car on a secluded road in Britain.

Having come from Pakistan from a family without a car, finished graduate school in England, landed a job, I felt the need to learn driving and own a car to join the Jones and impress others. I went to a driving school and the instructor took me to a remote corner of the city on a secluded country road. We exchanged places, and finally I was in the drivers seat. Then the instructor asked me if I know which pedal is the brake and which one is for shifting gear. I could see the look of amazement on the instructor's face when I told him that I do not. How could he imagine that a 25 year old have no knowledge of such things. Finally he showed me the stuff and he let me drive even though he was scared of his life.

Being a traditional hardworking and competitive immigrant, I devoted time and money to learn to drive the English stick shift car during my lunch breaks with the instructor. I even bought a beat up beetle Volkswagen to accelerate the driving license process. I would bribe my English roommates with fish and chips or curry if they would sit with me in the car while I practice the three point turn U turn without touching the narrow curbs of British roads or parallel parking.

Finally, I convinced the instructor that I am ready for the driving test even though he was not certain. We arrived at the test station, and he got out of the car and wished me luck while the examiner got comfortable in his seat. After the examiner told me to drive, I dutifully checked my mirrors and made the move. Things went well for about 10 minutes until we arrived at busy narrow road and he told me to turn left. There was a huge truck in front of me so I missed the turning and instructor shouted at me for not following instructions.

Having figured by then that I will fail the test, I kept my cool, and made a successful three point U turn and returned back to the original route. Thereafter, I just followed the instructions blindly until the end of the test because, I had lost all hope and waiting for the test to end. Once we were back at the testing facility, the examiner told me to park the car and started the oral examination. By then, I was enjoying this pretension of the test. So when he asked me about how to enter the motorway, being a civil highway engineer, I told him about the design speed and curves of the entrance and exit lanes. The questions then ended and after a long pause, he told me that I passed the test to my unbelief.

The driving instructor was also surprised by the result of my passing the test in first attempt. It was considered a greater achievement among my immediate circle of Pakistani and Indian colleagues. This was more than getting a PhD. Some of my colleagues and friends from Indian subcontinent left England for Australia and USA without ever getting the drivers license even though they had tried several times. Of course it was a piece of cake for them to get drivers license in USA and Australia.

The following weekend after the passing the drivers test, I drove from Bedford to London in my red beetle to show off to my friends and family. Of course on a busy Friday night, I was lost in the city and went round Piccadilly circle several times. The car did not have a fuel gage and got struck on the road with no gas. I had to walk to nearest gas station and beg for a can of gas hoping the car is not ticketed or towed away. With my Lexus, I would not have all this trouble, it tells me where to go and how many miles left before the next fill up. However, I will still trade my Lexus for the beat up beetle and delight of driving a car on my own first time.

No Muslim American in Obama's Cabinet

2008-12-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

More than two million Muslim Americans voted for President Elect Obama. This was a historic vote in which 90 percent of the Muslims vote went to the democratic candidates. This was in spite of Mr. Obama reluctance to be associated with any main stream Muslim organizations such as CAIR, MAS, American Muslim Task Force. He was careful to such an extent that he never came any where near a mosque or a Muslim gathering. His campaign sacked the Muslim coordinator.

Young Muslims campaigned enthusiastically for Obama even though two Hijab wearing women were removed from the a Obama rally by the his campaign workers. He refused to acknowledge his Pakistani and Muslim friends from college days. Despite all this Muslims voted for Mr. Obama. Their vote was taken for granted by the democratic party just like in the past African American voters were taken for granted.

Of course Obama's campaign collected record number of campaign contributions from rich Muslim physicians and businessmen. These persons were happy to have the fundraisers in their luxury homes and photographs taken with the different senators, congressmen, and governors. They tried to prove these surrogates that they are the good Muslims, the secular Muslims, and do not care for the mosques or majority of Muslims who have beards, wear hijabs, and frequent these mosques.

Guess what these secular Muslims got for their money; the glossy pictures and thank you notes. They did not any appointments that matter even on the transition team. On the other hand other communities who invited Obama and his surrogates to the synagogues and churches instead of their elegant homes, got the appointments that matter. According to all the Internet traffic and blogs of progressive citizens that I have seen, Mr. Obama is being already called the first Jewish president of the USA.

I hope that the secular Muslims have learned a lesson. You cannot disown others and call themselves as good Muslims. Muslims in USA have a common destiny and cannot achieve their goals without connection to the mosque and regular Muslims.

What a Waste - Jumma Khutbah

2008-12-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

About 300-700 Muslims come to pray on Friday at each mosque. They are captive audience of the Imam and his speech (khutbah). However, I notice usually the attendees tune out what Imam is saying in the first five minutes. The Imam usually tells them how bad they are in their practice of religion. He talks about Hijab for woman 90 percent of the time. However, he does not tell the men that things like beard is also Sunah and pronunce them as Kafirs. Imagine what will be the reaction of a young girl who takes time of work on Friday and hears this. She is likely to stop coming. She needs encouragement. I have found that woman start wearing Hijab on their own when they are ready and are not motivated by Khutbahs.

The Imam's is usually a recent immigrant with poor command of English. It is almost impossible to undersatnd him. He thinks he knows it all about Fiqah and Sunnat. However, his knowledge is rudimentary. According to traditions of the prophet, the Khutbah should be shorter than the time it takes to pray. However, the average Imam holds the audience with his monlogue for 30 minutes instead of a schedule of 15 minutes. The audience are looking at their watches because they have to go back to work. He moves from subject to subject without any direction or central theme. If he was teaching a class instead, all the students will drop out.

I have seen congregations aroused by a young Imam with English as his native tongue. I have seen how the word spreads and mosque gets very active. However, most of the mosques in USA are usually taken over by so called conservative immigrants and they do not like to part their authority. These trustees are usually no where to be seen when the mosque is being built by avearge muslims; however, they appear on the scene immedately after the infrastructure is complete.

What we need is to encourage young bright Muslims to study religion here in United States and not in places like Saudi Arabia. We have to collect funds to award scholarships to these students. Furtermore we have to make the Imam's salary attractive for these bright persons after they graduate.

Saudis - The Real Satans of the World

2008-10-22T18:09:00.000-07:00

I went to Makkah and Medina during Ramadan for Umrah. Makkah has five star hotels around the Haram which charge 900 dollars per night during Ramadan and they were all fully booked. Just a few yards from these hotels, I took 100 packets of juice and fruit to handout one Iftar time. I was mobbed. People came from all directions to get a packet of juice, a banana, and and an orange. I could not have imagined the poverty in the great Saudi Arabia which is milking the world with 80-145 dollars per barrel for the oil. I was so upset at lack of dignity these people have to suffer in a rich state that I could not bring myself to do it again. I also remember the solemn and sad faces of Pakistani and Bengladeshi cleaning crew with green and orange uniforms cleaning the roads and courtyard outside the Haram in 125 degree heat for a mere 130 dollars per month. I was ashamed for all Muslims, including me, for tolerating this situation in the land of Prophet Mohammad and Abu Bakar who spent nights looking for needy persons.

I am told the plight of the Pakistanis and Bengladeshis in Dubai is not different from Makkah. The arabs do not pay the wages. I was pleased and proud to be back in the USA. I do not know why the common man in Pakistan blames USA as a Satan nation while the real satans live in the arab countries. I can practice my religion and freedom of expression is much better in USA than in the Arab countries.

Update on December 7, 2008

Todays Washington Post story confirms my observations. See below.

A Critical View of Saudis' Treatment of Foreign Help

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120602149.html

Humans and Cats

2008-10-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

In 1968, while at the University of Southampton in England, I first learned about the love of cats by the people who live in the West. During my first week in Southampton, I went to Hafeez Sheikh's house. He used to live in a bed sitter (a bedroom in a house). The owner of the house (landaldy) was an elderly lady. She had three cats. Each cat ate different kind of food. On days she had to go out with her husband, it was Hafeez's job to give them food at specific time and at different stands in the kitchen. The cats were her life and occupation.I still remember the story that after a few years Hafeez went back to Southampton to visit the landlady. She spent the major part of the encounter talking about the death of the one the cats. She only mentioned in passing about the death of her husband during the same period. Based on this event, we used to joke about this that Western persons have more love for their cats than their spouses.

During the time the kids (Faisal and Nassir) were growing up there was always discusion about a pet in the family. However, being the dad, I always used to overrule about adopting a cat in the house.When Faisal got married, his wife Fatima got a cat from a nurse who used to work with her. Initially, I thought it was such a bad idea. Then the cat started coming to our house and we started sitting the cat while Fatima and Faisal went on vacation. I finally started enjoying the cat named Billy. She would come and sit in my lap and went to sleep in the lap like a baby. Tanzila and Fasial were very jealous about this. At night, the cat will come and sleep in our bed.

When Fatima moved to New York for her residency, Billy started staying at our house on the weekends because Faisal travels to Brooklyn every weekend to be with Fatima. This developed into a strong bond between the Billy and Tanzila, Nassir, and I. Billy would get up when I went to the bathroom in the moring and wait outside the bathroom door. When I went down stairs, she will lead me to fridge in the kitchen and anxiously wait for her favorite food tuna taken out from the fridge and put in the bowl. It was and still is a ritual.

Billy is a beautiful cat and only three years old (30 years human age). Lately, Billy has not been herself. She seems tired and does not have a good appetite. Faisal finally took het to the vetenary doctor last night and found out she has lost two pound in weight, which is alot for a small cat. This morning when Fatima called from New York called and told me that Faisal is really sad at his house because the vet has called him to give the bad news. The test results showed that Billy has renal (kideney) failure which is a terminal disease for the cats. This was a major shock for all of us. We do know that the only practical choice now is to pu Billy to sleep with an injection. However, we are not sure what Fasial is going to decide. So now I have come a full circle and compare myself to the landlady at Southampton. Life is funny.

Roohi Siddique

2008-09-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

I did not want this blog to become an obituary column. The last two posts were about my father and his cousin. However, I cannot in my right mind pass on the opportunity to memoralize the life of my friend and wife of dear univesity of engineering and technology (UET) Lahore alumnus Mohammad Siddique,

On August 18, 2008, I was driving some where in Pennsylvania enroute from Toronto to my home in Maryland that I got a call from my son that Roohi and her sister Tahseen died in atraffic accident in California. This was shocking and beyond belief. My wife Tanzila got really crazy on hearing the news becuase she like so many in the community considered Roohi their best friend.
Roohi and Tahseen died on August 17 were the victims of a head on collision by a young driver who was tring to overtake the car infront of him on a single lane road. I like many hundres of Roohi's other friends pray that Allah make it easy on her in the grave and raise her among the lucky ones who will go to Paradise.

Roohi was born on December 5, 1951 in Pakistan. She graduated with an MA in Pakistan studies from the famous Quaid Azam University in Islamabad, Pakistan. Thereafter she taught at a preparatory school in Islamabad until she got married on December 11, 1979 to Mohammad Siddique and moved to USA. She is survived by her husband of 29 years, son Yasir who is at dental school in Maryland, daughter Shabina who his doing her residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins, and two grand kids.

The last time I met Roohi was a couple of weeks earlier before her death. She came with her husband for a meeting I had arranged for the UET alumni at my home. She came at the door and said and jokingly said that she was not invited but she decided to come; however, she can leave if I want her to. Of course we would never let her leave. She was the life of the party. This was in evidence during her funeral prayers which was attended by more than thousand persons. Talking to some of them, I found out that all of them considered her as their best friend.

The thing I most admired in Roohi was her optimistic view of life. She lived the life to full. She always had a smile on her face. She was the one who can be counted when you were in need of support. She transfered these traits to her kids and many other kids she used to take care of at her home.

Her love of Politics and Pakistan was in evidence at every fundraiser for the politicians or functions of the Pakustan association. She or her husband Mohammed Siddique were the main orgainzers of the Pakistan Association. She was an ardent supporter of the democratic party and involved with the local politicians. It was unusual to Montgomery County Isiah Legette and other county officials to be present at her funeral.

I will like others who read this blog to leave their comments here. I will update the blog from these scomments at a latter date.

Colonel Jamaluddin (Indian Medical Service)

2008-08-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

Sajeela Khan, daughter of Col. Jamaluddin has submitted this post. Col.Jamaluddin, was a cousin of my father Sheikh Karim Baksh. I think this post is a natural follow on to my previous post about my dad. I will be glad to add additional information from others to this blog. Please leave the information in the form of a comment to this blog.

Colonel Jamaluddin was born in Amritsar, to the well known family of Hakim Ghulam Jilani, on May 22nd 1891. His father Sheikh Abdul Aziz was in the postal service with a jurisdiction extending from Poonji and Chilas to Jullunder. He was one of four brothers with no sister, and was educated at Randhir College, Rawalpindi. When the time came for the older two to be sent to England for higher education, their Mother insisted they get engaged to be married. At the time both brides to be,daughters of near relatives from Kapurthala, and Amritser, were barely eleven years old and still playing with dolls. Col Jamaluddin’s mother brought the young girls over,to keep her company on their long travels from Poonji and Chilas and to live with her as she had no daughters. During that time, a plague at Kapurthala broke out taking a toll. Most of Col. Jamaluddin’s relatives were lost, including the siblings and parents of Col Jamaluddins wife.

Col Jamaluddin was the first Muslim to graduate from Edinburgh in 1914 and was selected in the Indian Medical Service. On his return to India, He received a red carpet reception from the Maharaja of Kapurthala. His father in law had been the Maharajah’s Chief minister, and the family had lived in the prestigious area of Feel Darwaza (Elephant Gate). His daughter, Salima, was born in 1918 in Amritsar. His son, Jamil Akhtar, was born in Busra, Iraq, where Col Jamaluddin was the Captain in charge of a hospital. The second son, Group Captain Said Aziz, was born in Dehradoon. Col Jamaluddin took a leave of absense in order to return to Edinburgh to complete his medical degree to also become a civil surgeon. His wife was expecting their second daughter in 1922, so they came back to Agra in time for the birth of Sajeela. His youngest son Salar was born in Campbellpur, in 1929. The youngest daughter Safina was born in Ferozepur in 1931, where he was the Civil Surgeon.

In 1927 Col Jamaluddin had been posted as Civil Surgeon in Lahore. Mr Kirpalani was the Deputy Commissioner and Sardar Teja Singh was the Sessions Judge. All three Indians were posted together for the first time. With the help of a French architect who was their mutual friend, they planned the community of Model Town, as a retirement abode. Innitially, ModelTown was divided into three parts with a Mosque, a Temple and a Gurduwara as a center point to worship, surrounded by three blocks of housing each. Land at the center of the development was left vacant for recreation and community service centers.

Col Jamaluddins service throughout his career was exemplary. In Lyallpur, the Jamaluddin Gate was constructed in his honor.In 1938 he was transferred to Jallunder as Civil Surgeon. He was always pampered by the Maharaja of Kapurthala, and invited to play tennis in his royal court and ride elephants on the golden hoda along with his family. In 1941, during his posting in Fort Sandeman, as a Surgeon in the Military, his first granddaughter was born to his daughter Saleema. During the Partition in 1947, Col Jamaluddin opened the Walton Camp in Lahore and took early retirement to manage and treat patients at the camp. He was posted as Director of Health, Govt of Pakistan in Karachi. His voluntary services to the community continued as President of the ModelTown Society from 1950-56.

Col Jamaluddin died in December 1972 and was buried in Model Town. May his soul rest in peace, Amin.

My Dad Haji Sheikh Karim Bakhsh

2008-08-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

My dad Sheikh Karim Bakhsh was born on February 28, 1900 in Kapurthala, Punjab, India. He was eldest child and had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. He was 6 feet tall, of fair complexion, and had blue eyes. He was married some time around 1920 -1921, and had ten children who survived childhood. Eight of them are alive. However, my eldest brother Abdul Khaliq and younger brother Abdul Majid have passed away.

My grand dad, Noor Ahmed, was not well off and had operated a small general store in Kupurthala, India. Despite this, my dad completed his high school education (12 grades), which was rare in those days. My dad’s uncle, Abdul Aziz, who was the family patriarch, and employed in a good position in the Indian Post and Telegraph Department, helped him to get a job in his department. However, my dad got big break in his life when his uncle, Abdul Aziz, sponsored his trip to Scotland around 1921-22, a few months after he got married and left my mom with his parents. He accompanied his cousin Captain Jamal Din (Abdul Aziz’s son who later became a Colonel in British India Army) to Edinburgh.

Colonel Jamal Din qualified as doctor in the Indian Medical Service in 1912 from Edinburgh and returned to India. Maharaja of Kapurthala had a grand reception for Colonel Jamal Din when he returned to India from Edinburgh. He served in the Indian army at Amritsar, Basra, and Dehra Dun among many places. It is interesting to note that one of his kids was born in Basra in Iraq where all the fighting is going even now.

Now going back to my dad journey to Edinburgh. He was sent to keep company of Captain Jamal Din who was to get training and pass the Member of Royal College of Gynecologist examination. Captain Jamal Din’s wife, and three kids Saleema, Jamil, and Saeed also accompanied him. My dad utilized his time in Edinburgh to pass part 1 of the Institute of Electrical Engineers examination. He could not complete the final part of the examination because he had to come back to India because Captain Jamal Din’s wife was pregnant with Sajeela Khan. His wife did not want to have the baby in UK. This is quite a contrast to the recent practice where people come to have babies in the west.

After his return from Edinburgh, he was appointed as engineering supervisor in the Indian Post and Telegraph Department. He continued his education by correspondence and finally became graduate member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers London some time around 1928-30. However, by this time by Indian Post and Telegraph Department standards he was too old at 30 to be selected as a young officer. He was subsequently promoted as assistant engineer and progressed thru the ranks to retire as deputy chief engineer in the Pakistan Post and Telegraph Department, at Karachi, in 1956

The book, “History of the Pakistan Telegraph and Telephone Department” has following observations about my dad:

“Mr. Karim Bakhsh was a selfless and a scrupulously honest officer and a very hard working one. He was serving as a Assistant Engineer Phones in Delhi for the Maintenance of the Connaught Place (New Delhi) telephone exchange. After partition, The Pakistan Post and Telegraph Department requested M/S GEC to send their representative for exchange installation work at Lahore but they declined. Mr. Karim Bakhsh was then deputed by the Directorate General to take the work in hand.”

“In spite of all the handicaps, the equipment at Lahore Cantonment, Lyalpur, and Rawalpindi was installed during 1948 and 1949 ahead of schedule. Mr. Karim Bakhsh was awarded three advance increments by the Minister for Communications for important installation work done by him. After partition, Mr. Karim Bakhsh was promoted as Divisional Engineer.”

His reputation for hard work, integrity, and honesty was such that even after his retirement, one of his former German colleagues sent him airline tickets and money after his retirement to perform Haj get his advice on starting telecommunication network in Saudi Arabia.

After retirement, to support me and my other siblings thru college, my dad moved to Haripur, Hazara and worked at telephone factory, until 1961. Thereafter, he came back to Karachi, and lived there until he died on August 13, 1984.

My wife Tanzila who saw her later in Karachi, remembers him for white beard and piercing blue eyes. She does not remember him raising his voice. He used to sit out side in the veranda, always reading. He also walked every where and never had a car. Her most vivid memories is having breakfast at 6:30 or 7:00 AM. He will take the plates and cups out, and set the table while Amman made breakfast in the kitchen. He will always have a fried egg and toast. People used to get come medication from him. He used to practice Homeopathic medicine and gave out little white pills.

My niece Assiya has reminded me that her grandmother from the other side had so much faith in him that she would only get better with his medicines. Sajeela Khan, the daughter of Colonel Jamal Din tell me that my dad was a dear cousin friend of her father.

I believe his legacy his unique work to help Pakistan after his birth to establish telecommunication system under tough and demanding conditions when the British experts left the country. The Ghausia Masjid in PECHS Pakistan near the house he lived which he helped build. I still remember him walking around the neighborhood and knocking at the doors to get donations for the mosque, and being chased out by servants and dogs. The Ghausia Masjid is a vibrant institution. However, his main legacy was his siblings and children whom he helped raise and educate against all odds. One his younger brother, whom he raised like a son, went on to become famous physician who help treat and cure thousands from the deadly disease of Tuberculosis.

All of his sons followed him in the engineering profession.

I also wanted to integrate the following information from my nephew Zouhair Khaliq into the write-up but due to lack of time and am for the present leaving it alone below.

My Dear Uncle HaiI
I read the portrait of Abbaji with deep emotion and fond memories! I wastraveling last week in Barcelona as part of the attendance at the annual3GSM conference and was unable to write back.There is a great book called the "History of the Telecom Industry inPakistan" written by Mr. Yousaf Raza, which incidentally mentions withgreat respect not only Abbaji as one of the pioneers of Telecom inPakistan but my father as well. There is I believe still a part of theLahore Telecom Exchange which bears Abbaji's signature as he certifiedthe operational readiness of the exchange.

The book mentions that Shiekh Karim Baksh was instrumental in launchingthe first "electronic" exchange in Pakistan while Shiekh Abdul Khaliqwas the pioneer in launching the first "digital" exchange in Pakistan.(Incidentally I was involved in the launch of the first "GSM cellular"exchange in Pakistan - carrying on in the 3rd generation the pioneeringwork of two distinguished people!)

Everywhere I go in Islamabad even today I am very proud to be known bythe old timers here as the son of Shiekh Abdul Khaliq and the grandsonof Shiekh Karim Baksh- which just shows the legacy they have created -honesty, integrity, dedication and sincerity- none of which one canpurchase

My own memories of Abbaji are mostly around the time I was away studying in England. He would write long letters full of advice (sometimes correcting my grammar and also objecting to my admittedly terrible handwriting!!) and support to me regularly and I would look forward to receiving them and reading them. Although never overtly affectionate he always showed the most caring attitude both in his letters and when I went to visit in Pakistan. His advice and suggestions are as relevant and valuable to me today as they were then, as I sought to find my wayas a young person. His words always guided me to the right path at a time when I was surrounded by all kinds of new distractions.

What I will never forget is the afternoon that he passed away. I wasalone in our home in Islamabad, Ammi having flown to Karachi with thegirls at the news of Abbaji having fallen and hurt himself in anaccident, as he walked back from Ghausia Masjid after prayers, as hewould insist on doing 5 times a day. Abbu was on tour in Japan and I had stayed behind as I had just started a new job. I came back early from work that day and fell asleep on my bed and dreamt that Abbaji came upto me, put his hand on my shoulder and then stepped back and waved. I woke up immediately with the phone ringing and my Khala was on the phone to tell me that Abbaji had just passed away a few minutes ago. I canonly guess the extent of his love and care as he came to say Khuda Hafizto me in that final moment! I will always remember him with thegreatest of respect and admiration. I am so very conscious that I am theeldest of the eldest son of a great and humble man and that I mustalways live up to his legacy!With fond regards

Zouhair Khaliq

Siblings Age and Religious Practice

2008-07-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

I have always wondered if there is a correlation between the age of siblings and their practice of religious rituals. This is particularly important in large families where difference of ages between the eldest and youngest sibling can be 20 years. In the normal life cycle, most people start practicing the rituals, as they grow old. The eldest son or daughter is born and raised when the parents are young and not so involved with the religion. By the time the last kid arrives in a large family, the parents are entering the middle age and usually more religious. It is well-documented fact that the home environment has a major impact on the child. Therefore, the younger sibling is more than likely to be more observant of religious rituals. I have tested my hypothesis on different families. The hypothesis seems to work.

The hypothesis can be also applied on the broader population of Pakistan. I have found that the younger persons in Pakistan generally have long beards and can be classified fundamentalist in the contemporary sense of the word. In contrast, persons who are older and were born before the Partition seem to be less religious. Even when they grow old they are still 50 percent Muslims. Like me, they practice the rituals but cheat and lie in their dealings withother human beings. The younger generation is either 100 percent Muslim or are secular Muslims. It would be interesting to know if others share my views on thesubject

Crystal Gift Packages

2008-07-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

Our dinning room hutch cabinet is full of crystal wares that we have received as gifts from persons who visit us for dinner or come to stay with us as guests. These crystal look beautiful. However,there is a limit to the number of these crystal dishes one can use in the house. I am sure we will never use most of these gifts. The only beneficiary of this gift giving is the manufacturer of the crystals like Mikasa. Some times we pass on these gifts when we go to other people houses without even opening them. The only change being a new wrapping paper. The package keep traveling from house to house in its eternal journey without ever being used. There is always a danger of giving the gift back to the original purchaser by accident.

Another tradition which has developed over the years is of giving men dress shirts or kurta shalwar as a present. I have found that these items also stay in your dresser. Usually the shirts do not fit at the collar or at the sleeves. In addition, how many kurta shalwars you need to wear in USA. You only have two Eids in a year. I am so happy that the new wedding invitations specifically ask that no boxed gifts be brought to the wedding or some other occasion. The wedding couple collects checks or cash that they either use to buystuff or some other needs. However, they miss out on some of the memorable gifts, which become precious with time.

I still have anduse four of the six glasses that my friend gave us as wedding present 35 years ago. These glasses have traveled most of the world in our luggage. The other two broke sometime back. The glasses are not expensive but with time they have a history.I remember back in Pakistan, the relatives used to give unstitchedcloth as gifts for the wedding. The cloth material also used to be passed on from wedding to wedding. Perhaps, now we have replaced the cloth with the crystal. It would be nice to get some feedback about your experience withcrystal gifts.

Benazir Bhutto

2008-07-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

The death of Benazir Bhutto has evoked memories of my reaction to her father's death in 1979. I was in Montreal and was in a dilemma of either going to Pakistan to work with my friend Hafeez Shaikh or to join Bechtel Corporation in California who had offered me a job. I had to leave Montreal since we had already sold our house and fed up with the daily turmoil of living there and achieve fluency in French. Montreal, Quebec is the only place in World where you had to pass conversational and written French test to become a Professional Engineer. Having spent my weekends and evenings learning French and passing the French test after a couple of attempts I was ready to live in Montreal. However, then came the ruling that Faisal would have to go to a French school because I and Tanzila were both not schooled in English in Pakistan. That is when cookie crumbled and decision to leave Montreal was made in the fall of 1978.

One of my colleauges told me about the hanging of the Zulfiqar Bhutto when I walked into my office in 1979. I felt that Pakistan will bein turmoil after his death; therefore,I immediately went to see my chief engineer and turned in my resignation. The rest is history. It is amazing how an event in Pakistan turned the course of our whole family's life. Allah has mysterious ways. I do not know how many lives will change because of Benazir's death. How many families will decide to live abroad and not go back to Pakistan. It is a shame and military dictators have to be blamed for all this. These are the people who were not able to be admitted top professional schools and universities in Pakistan and went on to Kakul Academy after high school. What do you expect from these dictators with 12th grade education.

Direction for Muslim Prayer- Qibla- Kabbah Locator

2008-07-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

Muslims pray five times a day. During the prayers, they face the Kabbah, the holy mosque in Makkah. It is a chore to find direction of Kabbah, Makkah using different devices like compass etc., specially when you are traveling. I found the following useful website which helps you locate the direction quickly on your computer.

http://www.qiblalocator.com

Just click on it. Then put the address, city, zip code of your house or other location where you want the Qibla direction. The dirction of the Qibla alongwith an aerial photo of the property (your house) will be shown on the screen. No need to calculate or use compass etc.

Non Muslims Allowed in Medina

2008-07-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

I found the following information on the website. Until this time, I did not know that Non-Muslims can visit Medina with special permission. I am not sure if the average MUslim in Pakistan knows about this.

The Madinah Marriott hotel is grandly situated on King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Road opposite the new Imara House. This full-service property offers spacious accommodations and superior facilities in a central location approximately four hundred fifty meters southwest of the Alharim Mosque. The Holy (Prophet's) Mosque is one half mile from the hotel with complimentary transportation available. Madinah is one of the three holiest cities of the Muslim faith and non-Muslims are not allowed to stay overnight within the city. As the Madinah Marriott is located inside the city limits, the hotel must fully comply with all local laws and ordinances. Under certain special conditions, non-Muslims may obtain a special permit to visit Madinah during the day. For additional information regarding daytime visits, it would be best to contact appropriate city officials. There are a number of hotels within a fifteen minute drive of Madinah that can accommodate non-Muslim travelers visiting for the day.

Civilan Nuclear Power Plants in Pakistan

2008-07-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

The average Pakistani has been hoodwinked by the media and the politicians about the contribution of Abdul Qadeer Khan to the Pakistan. He is the metallurgist who stole plans from Holland and were sucessful in getting a nuclear bomb made in Pakistan. The so called first Muslim nuclear bomb. In the process he also transmitted bomb making techniques to rogue states Nrth Korea and Libya for personal gain. He lived lavishly in Islamabad. All the material for his house onstruction was imported from overseas.

What the average person in Pakistan does not know of the price paid by Pakistanis for this bomb. Due to this bomb making aventure all civilian nuclear power plant construction in Pakistan stopped since 1979. Pakistan was left with a single civilan commercial nuclear power plant in Karachi with a meagre capacity of 150 MW. The west refused to provide nuclear technology to Pakistan. Pakistani scientists and enginees trained for nuclear power were frustated and left Pakistan.

In contrast, South Korea decided to go for civilan nuclear power and since 1979, has built 18 nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of over 20000 MW. This enabled South Korea to use the electrical energy for productive use. South Korea is considered a newly developed nation with 100 percent literacy, exporting cars, color TVs, and computers. South Korea is militarily also very strong and build a bomb any time within a matter of months since it has the infrastructure.

Pkaistan on the other hand is left with a traitor Abdul Qadeer Khan who is providing trade secrets to the media. The average man is suffereing the electrical power shortage in the form of load shedding. The industry is running under capacity due to load shedding. Inspite of a talented pool of engineers and scientists, the international companies have shied away from investing in Pakistan.

Thank you AQ Khan for making all this happen

Pakistan Energy Crisis

2008-07-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

University of Engineering and Technology Lahore Alumni Association (UET-AA) is holding a half-day long seminar on the role and prospects of private sector in mitigating power shortage in Pakistan, on October 12, 2008 at Washington DC. The seminar will have panel discussion on:

1. Alternative sources of electrical power generation in Pakistan including, but not limited to, the use of wind and solar energy.

2. Guarantees and legal framework required for the international and local enterprises to invest in the Pakistan energy sector.

The focus of the seminar is to share experience and put forward constructive ideas that can help eliminate persistent load shedding, which is seriously affecting the population and industrial production in Pakistan. Interested Alumni and their friends, who would like to participate as panelists in the discussion are requested to send e-mail to mailto:toabdulhaisheikh@yahoo.com by August 15, 2008 indicating the topic of interest.

Another Life to Live

2008-07-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

If I had another life I would choose to become an army officer rather than studying hard to become an engineer. Then I would not have to leave Pakistan in search of employment and higer studies. I would live in the posh defense housing society with servants and orderliesinstead of cleaning my own house and cutting grass in my yard on the weekends in USA. I would not have to worry about money and real estate. Army would have provided me with free plots in the defensesociety and and Maarabas.

I could have staged a coup and become thepresident. If not the army dictator would have appointed me head ofa large institution or even vice chancelor of a university where Icould abuse the poor elite Ph.D professors with an iron hand.

I would have taken care of my brothers and sisters by awarding themhuge defense contracts. I would have sent my sons and daughters tostudy at Harvard and Stanford. The universities would have admittedthem even if they were not good students for political correctness.Every few months I would go to Saudi Arabia to cleanse my sins byperforming Umra as a VIP on government expense. Then I will come backand do party in the defense and gymkhana clubs.