Netherlands Trip – Part 2

So, to continue this wonderful, once-in-a-lifetime experience, we left at where the most annoying and unforgettable person steps through the small, red door of the house.

Three people walked into the house, Faisal’s two brothers and his dad. The first one was Umar bhai, a person who immediately resembled an educated student, even like a professor. He later proved my assumptions right, even though he has a great humorous side as well. Umar resembled Faisal in many ways, except he was skinner, since poor Faisal gained a bit of weight during his trip to the USA. 😛 Umar was also a bit taller, and his hair was as curly as his brothers. He even had a nice, rugged beard! The person following Umar into the house was an older version of Faisal, his dad. I finally found where Faisal and Umar got their curly hair from: Even though he had only half of his hair left, there was a still recognizable curliness in his old, white hair. To be honest, at first sight, he resembled Don of the underworld, which his youngest son apparently was–Azeem. As they always say, save the best for last. That was the complete opposite for Azeem.

(Azeem deserves his own paragraph)

The last person following Uncle (I’ll mention him as Uncle from now on) was, unfortunately, Azeem. What a strange little boy. At first glance, I immediately knew he would be different from his brothers. Again, my assumption came out right later. Azeem was a few inches taller than me. He had a crazy-looking hairstyle, and he had no beard. He was a bit fat but apparently it’s just all muscle (*cough*). I had spoken to Azeem a few times before coming to Holland, and he didn’t seem like the person who I spoke to on the internet. Instead of expecting a shy boy, he was the complete anithesis of what I expected. He was outgoing, funny, and indiscriminate. As as he saw me, we hugged and met each other. The rest of our journey of getting to know Azeem goes throughout the week. I also discovered he’s a huge Bollywood fan as I am. Finally, someone in the family who appreciates some Indian culture 😛 To sum it all up, Azeem was one of those people who you couldn’t live without and you couldn’t live with. It was perfect. 🙂

As soon as we all met, Goodie pupoh immediately made us some nice, lucious chicken rice, MMMM my favorite! I guessed that my mom told her before we came, or she just had amazing psychic powers, and she read my mind. The rice was leccar (which means delicious in Dutch). Once we filled our stomachs, we went and sat down. We caught up with some old memories, and we just discussed general things.

After a few hours of that, we took a quick tour of their house, which was three stories! I found out that we would be sleeping upstairs in Umar’s room. It was a comfortable room, with enough space to fit all of us. Umar’s room had a computer, a lot of books, as well as the picture of the Shaikh, who, apparently, always watches us… creepy! Then, Assad came over, one of Azeem’s friends. I found out that he was my dad’s friend’s son; he was a pretty chill-out guy. He was nice. It wasn’t what I was expecting from one of Azeem’s friends. 😛

Moreover, night seemed to wash over Holland in an instant. By the time we knew it, the owls started hooting. To be honest, I was getting pretty tired. It was a long plane ride, and I only slept for 2 hours on the plane. I needed to catch my 40 winks. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sleep yet: The last day for Anny bhaji’s wedding was tomorrow, and we couldn’t sleep, or we would have been tired tomorrow as well. This, as Faisal so kindly told us, was called jet lag, which is a biological clock inside your body. Ours hadn’t adjusted yet. So, we agreed to play Monopoly. It wasn’t a bad game, even though Azeem secretly cheated!

Finally, it was getting late, and Goodie pupoh forced us to go to bed. I didn’t complain. 😛 I was tired!

Before I went to sleep, the last thought that zoomed into my mind was the fact that I was glad I was here, then I slowly drifted into pleasant dreams, not knowing that the rest of my days in Holland would be one of the best days of my life.

To be continued…

Netherlands Trip – Part 1

As my cousin and I were departing the long, tiring plane ride, we scrambled to put on sweaters because it was as if we landed in a blizzard storm. There’s, obviously, a significant difference of temperatures in Houston and Holland. It seemed as if the flight would never end. It was an 11-hour long flight, and if you have a cousin who doesn’t quit bugging you, it makes the journey a living “H”, “E”, “double hockey stick.” After what seemed like forever, we landed at Schiphol Airport, the central airpot in Amsterdam.

It was my first time in a European country, and my first time to visit my lovely Dutch cousins. As we stepped out of the airplane, we went through the international security check, which, for us, went suprisingly smooth. We soon realized that we had no signal on our phones… duh! I knew that a SIM card from the United States wouldn’t function properly in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, my trying-to-be-smart brother told us it would be fine. That was the first encumbrance we hit. Luckily, after a few minutes of searching around for a phone, we saw three particularly familiar faces–my aunt and her two children.

At first, I didn’t recognize them, except Faisal bhai, who was a tall, curly-headed, young man.  He came to the USA on a scholarship to UCLA (yes, he’s a genius :P). When the other two were following him, we assumed that they were family members we vaguely remember, Faiza bhaji and Goodie pupoh. Faiza was a short (in a good way), nice-looking girl. Her smile could have shined the whole airport. It was cuddly and warm, which gave us another reason to conclude that she had to be related to Faisal. Goodie Pupoh, our aunt from our father’s side, was just like her daugther; she was wearing traditional Pakistani clothes, a woman that everyone respected. To my surprise, she also wore a hijab, a head-covering for Muslim women. That dramatically increased my sense of respect for her. All of them quickly came over, and we hugged warmly. It was a great feeling, like getting something you’ve always wanted.

After several minutes of saying our hellos, we started to walk out the airport. On the way, Faisal questioned, “Would you like a traditional Dutch donut, Saad and Bilawal?” Although we were unsure of how Dutch donuts were like, we risked eating one. Dutch donuts were brown and round, like a small tennis ball, and they had white-powdery covering on it. It took only one bite: The donut engrossed me in a never-ending delicious fest; it was so good, that I thought about asking for another one. Unfortunately, I secretly refused, trying to watch the amount I ate, since eating too much would have ruined my six-pack routine. 😛

Moreover, after we had finished the Dutch delights, we went into a small, white van, which later would fit in around 8 people easily (we’ll get to that part later). The sites were worth it: There were old-fashioned buildings; they weren’t like the humongous bulidings back in Houston. Instead, they had a sense of closeness and comfiness. Back in Houston, the houses are really, too, big. They seem empty and alone. That’s why the Netherlands gave off that ray of friendliness. We finally reached home; the airpot was about 30 minutes from where they lived. Although their house seemed little from the outside, the inside seemed as if they lived in a castle. The love that was being emitted was astounding. As soon as we came in, it felt as if we were home, another house only 5,000 miles away from our original house.

Then… Azeem came home, an unforgettable person…

To be continued…

Saad

More updates!

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to inform everyone that we’re finally getting a nice design made for “Muslims in America”. It’s actually being made by one of my close cousins, who has a “thing” for these kinds of things. That also means we’re getting it at no charge. 😛

Anyway, I’ll keep informing everyone. I’m also going to be soon posting on how to be able to apply for an editor.

Stay tuned!

Saad

WoW… how long has it been?

Hi Everyone,

As you can clearly see, this blog has been inactive for the past 5 months now, without any updates. This, truly, is my fault. Over the last several months, I became busy with a few other projects that needed my attention, yet I never completely forgot about this blog.

Now that I’m actually free, I’m going to continue working on Muslims in America, trying to improve it and getting the word out to everyone. I deeply apologize for the inactivity, but be rest assured that I will get this site up properly very soon.

I play to get a design, a domain (muslimsinamerica.net), as well as a few more editors who will be willing to help me out.

I also recommend that you check out this blog: http://www.wijblijvenhier.nl. Although it’s in Holland and the language is Dutch, it’s a very nice resource for Islamic related things. It has similar goals as Muslims in America, and it has been around longer as well.

For now, see you all later!

Saad

Sorry Guys!

Hi Everyone,

I apologize for not commenting on anything this whole month. I’ve been avidly busy with constructing an actual website for “Muslims in America”.

I’ve just got a few more things that I need to do before I will release it.

There’s also been a ton of school work, as well as few extracurricular activites that I’ve had to attend.

This website isn’t gone, and nor am I.

Expect major updates to arrive soon!

Saad Naveed

Where to begin!

Hi Everyone,

It’s been several days since I’ve made a post here. Don’t worry, I haven’t been taken by the FBI for launching this website. Instead, I’m still waiting for my home to regain its electricity because of Hurricane Ike.

Thank God Hurricane Ike didn’t do much damage to our part of the neighborhood. The only worse thing happened is a few branches fell onto our front yard, which I took the liberty of cleaning up :(.

Unfortunately, that probably won’t be until this Tuesday. I’m running on a neighbor’s generator from time to time, which is how I can use the internet.

So, I’ll see you all soon! Hope everyone else was safe through the Hurricane.

Saad Naveed

9/11

Hi Everyone,

I’d like to take a moment and say that I hope Allah (God) blesses all those who died on September 11th, 2001. I want to give their families the utmost respect, and I can understand a loss of a loved one.

I will, later on, comment on 9/11. Today is not the day, and I feel that everyone should be united in the face of evil.

Saad Naveed

Ike, Take a Hike!

Hi Everyone,

This is mostly directed to those living in areas around Houston and Galveston. As most people are aware, Hurricane Ike is predicted to strike through those areas with wind speeds greater than 100 MPH. Mostly everything has been canceled (schools and after-school activities). All of Galveston is being mandated to evacuate, but others are riding out the storm.

It looks like I’m going to have to face Ike as well! I’m staying at my house instead of evacuating.

My main point is that I pray everyone will be safe through this hurricane if it hits us.

If you’ve heard the story of Prophet Nuuh (Noah), then you should know that he built a boat for Allah (God) because Allah was angry at the people who Nuuh went to. There’s a lesson that should be learned from that event. In the Qur’an, it explains, “There is no place of safety against Allah’s wrath except His Mercy.” (11:43)

No one wants to experience Allah’s wrath, which is why we should all seek forgiveness and closeness to Allah. This goes for everyone, including non-Muslims.

When you’re closer to Allah, he WILL protect you like a best friend.

So, I pray that God will bless everyone, and that he will forgive all our sins.

Saad Naveed

So called “Islamic Women Oppression”

Hi Everyone,

An Islamic woman wearing an old-fashioned Hijab (covering for body).

When people think of women in Islam, they associate it with oppression. This has been a misconception in most non-Muslims minds for awhile now because the media likes to show the “false” Islam.

First of all, the Islamic women people see on the news, usually in Saudi Arabia, is a complete falsity. Saudi Arabia, in general, is a corrupt country that keeps their country’s women oppressed. That humiliates, embarrasses, and prevents women from everything they’re entitled to in the real Islamic face. They beat women and restrict them from driving vehicles, which is the complete contrary to Islamic teachings.

Speaking from my own life and experiences, the majority of the non-Muslim population hasn’t seen how women are truly treated. For example, in Pakistan or the United States, I’ve seen women, including my mother, drive vehicles. They don’t get their necks chopped if they don’t wear hijabs (they have a choice). They don’t get humiliated on a regular basis. It’s just in places where countries give the wrong image to others about Islam.

As far as I know, women have at least the same if not equal to the rights of men. Sure, there are a few things a man needs to do in an Islamic family, such as supporting their family with income instead of a woman. Usually, a woman’s job is to take care of her family, but that doesn’t mean they’re restricted to that. I’ve personally seen Islamic women who have ascended to being neurosurgeons, doctors, attorneys, and CEO of eminent businesses.

So, next time, please don’t think that Islam allows women to be beat, raped, or anything else gruesome. It’s strictly forbidden in Islam, Christianity, and most other major religions, and it’s just morally wrong to beat a woman.

I respect all women, and all Muslims AND non-Muslims should too. We were all created by the same God, and we’re all brothers and sisters.

I hope that a few misconceptions were cleared about women in Islam!

Saad Naveed

*Sneeze*

Hi Everyone,

It seems I’ve caught the flu. It’s been getting better, but I haven’t been able to make a proper post. Don’t worry though! I’ll be cured in no time, and I’ll have some interesting things to discuss.

Saad Naveed