ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Middle East and North AfricaRaising bi-cultural kids

but as far as religion goes.... we disagree. It will work itself out when the time comes, but, my children are baptised as christians and i intend for our baby to be baptised a christian also. He knows this , and doesnt like it, but he knows i am honest and just say how i feel.


May I make a small suggestion? Work it out ASAP and get the agreement in writing. I've seen a number of interfaith marriages go kaboom because this issue was never resolved. It can work out, but I don't think I've ever seen it work itself out, especially when a muslim man is involved (F)

Edited by rahma, 21 July 2006 - 03:23 PM.

UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2006-07-21 15:21:00
Middle East and North AfricaRaising bi-cultural kids
While kids aren't in our plans for the next few years, I do find myself wondering how I will instill both Egyptian and American pride and culture in my kids, and find a way to balance it, so that they're proud of being both, and don't think of themselves as primarily egyptian or primarily american (ooo, look at that run on sentence).

I know we're going to try to raise them bilingually, inshaAllah. My husband will speak arabic with them and I'll speak english. Eep, better get on that arabic so I'll know what my kids are saying.

I got some cute little baby thobes for my friend's kid when I was in Egypt last time, so I'm hoping to dress my kids biculturally too :D My husband is actually going through this right now too, with himself. I got him a kufi that he wears when he prays, but he's started to wear it other times too, and may venture outside with it on as a statement of his muslim identity. A lot of people here think he's latino.

I can only hope my kids will be this cute inshaAllah!

Posted Image

Anyone else have thoughts on the issue?
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2006-07-21 14:22:00
Middle East and North AfricaHave you been MENA-ized by your SO?
Meh, I'm one who uses certain arabic phrases in english conversation, usually around other muslims. It's just what AbuS and I have always done, so now it's second nature. They're phrases that carry a certain amount of deeper meaning in arabic that an english translation just can't capture in full.

Certain religious phrases span the muslim world. You'll find muslims in indonesia, india, nigeria and everywhere else saying things like Assalamu Alaikum, Alhamdulilah, SubhanAllah and Allahu Akbar, so it's not unusual for english speaking muslims to do so as well.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2010-09-23 12:06:00
Middle East and North AfricaHave you been MENA-ized by your SO?
2 years later, still not MENA-ized. Still can't cook more than the bare minimum of Egyptian food. Still can't speak arabic worth beans. Still wear western (albiet islamizied) clothing.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2010-03-08 08:38:00
Middle East and North AfricaHave you been MENA-ized by your SO?
When I was in second grade, my family went to the Chicago Field museum and toured their egypt exhibit. I fell in love and decided I would wanted to be an egyptologist. I converted my best friend, and together we got our hands on everything egypt related possible. I was obsessed for years, and my presents at birthdays and whatnot were almost always in the egyptian theme. I still have all of this - a blow up mummy in the corner of our living room, several papyrus prints, ancient egyptian theme jewlery and lots of little nicknacks.

I kind of fell away from that after junior high. My interest in egypt was peeked again when I had a miserable time at college and spent a lot of time online. I chatted with people from all over the world, and met my future husband. The underlying love of egypt was rekindled, and I promptly delved back into egyptian history, including everything beyond ancient egypt, which was all new to me.

I definately have an affinity to egyptian culture through my husband, but it's just part of all of the cultures I appreciate, like cbd2cai.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2007-01-12 20:39:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Fasting seems to be a lost devotional act amongst most of western christianity, at least from my observance. Glad to hear your experience was different.

Beliefnet has a piece on 8 Ramadan lessons for all spiritual seekers that may be of interest to non muslims who may fast.


UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-04 11:23:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Tangentally, a large number of christians *do* fast and consider it quite important, although in a very different way from the fasting we're talking about here. Oriental and eastern orthodox christians fast under the supervision of their priest/spiritual father.

Unlike muslim fasting, which is abstaining from food and drink only during daylight hours, or jewish fasting, which is abstaining from food and drink for 25 hours, orthodox fasting is abstaining from certain types of food, often for longer periods of time. In general, the fasts are from meat, dairy, fish, olive oil and wine, I believe, although I've observed a fair bit of variation.

And up until the mid century, catholics fasted as well. Growing up in heavily catholic central wisconsin, the schools did not serve meat on Friday, as it was catholic practice to abstain from meat on that day.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-04 09:32:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
American Ramadan

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-04 09:08:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
I fasted the year before I converted and it was an amazing experience. But then, Allah (swt) has always made fasting easy for me alhamdulilah, so it wasn't a struggle. And, at that time, iftar came around 4:30, so it was much easier.

Have a hearty and healthy meal ready when the time to break the fast comes. AbuS arrived at the beginning of Ramadan 2005 and claimed that whatever I would make would be fine with him. When I presented him with my normal iftar meal - soup and a tuna melt - he looked at me with these big sad puppy dog eyes and was like, what is this? So, while the origin of food doesn't really matter to him (he doesn't really care if he eats MENA food or not), the type does matter. I always make sure I have a meat dish, a big salad, fruit, soup and carbs (bread and rice usually, sometimes noodles). I also do all my cooking on the weekends, so all I have to do is heat things up come maghrib time. While it sucks to slave over a hot stove for hours on Saturday, it's better then slaving over that same hot stove every day during the week.


If you're a non muslim and you want to fast, great! Give it a try. But if you can't, then no harm, no foul star_smile.gif
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-04 08:12:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
I can see a lot of beauty in the expiation of fasting:

1. Islam is not a draconian religion that says "you must fast, even if it will cause you great harm." Rather, it allows you the chance to gain barakah (blessings) through other acts of worship, like the giving of the fidyah, that you otherwise miss from fasting.

2. Fidyah depends on your own economic standing. Rather than say everyone around the world must pay the same amount, it depends on the cost of the food in your area, and on what you yourself eat. If you can afford to feed yourself something, then certainly you can afford to feed someone else too.

3. I don't have the references right now, but I seem to remember that if a person is truely destitute (ie has absolutely no money), then feeding himself counts. Don't quote me on that though, have to check it out.


I love to read about the life of the sahaba. One thing that pops up again and again was their willingness to share with those in need even the food they were literally about to put in their mouths.

Narrated Aisha (ra): A lady along with her two daughters came to me asking (for some alms), but she found nothing with me except one date which I gave to her and she divided it between her two daughters, and did not eat anything herself, and then she got up and went away. Then the Prophet came in and I informed him about this story. He said, "Whoever is put to trial by these daughters and he treats them generously (with benevolence) then these daughters will act as a shield for him from Hell-Fire." (Bukhari).
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-03 13:51:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Ah, it gets more complicated laughing.gif I'll have to dig up my notes from the fiqh of fasting course I took last year. This was the basic outline.

Based on calculations, it's the 12th of shaban. Based on when the moon was seen in north america, it's the 11th.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-03 11:14:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Haven't listened to this yet

The Secrets of Fasting
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-03 07:44:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
QUOTE (amysaid @ Aug 3 2009, 01:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I got really overheated yesterday, dehydrated, and sooo sick from it. I'm really afraid of fasting here during Ramadan. I don't know if I can handle it. Not sure how to tell Ahmed this, because I think he will be disappointed in me.


start practice fasting now - fast until noon, then 12:30, then 1, just to get your body used to it. inshaAllah it is just because you've just come to Egypt and are not used to it.

On the first day of Ramadan last year, my friend and I went to the RNC protests. We marched around in 90+ degree heat for 5 hours, then had to hike 3 miles to catch a bus home, because the stupid rioters had made it too dangerous for the buses to come in. Not fun, but it was doable star_smile.gif
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-03 07:41:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
http://qa.sunnipath....=...2443&CATE=6


5. If a person is travelling, it is permissible for him not to fast. He must make qada of the missed fast whenever possible. "Travelling" in this context is the same as that mentioned in the chapter on offering salaat while travelling, i.e. one must have the intention of travelling approximately 77 kilometres or more.

6. If by travelling, a person will not experience any difficulties by fasting, e.g. he is travelling by train and feels that he will reach his destination by the evening or he has all the necessary items which will give him comfort during the course of the journey, in such a case it will be preferable to fast even though he is still regarded as a traveller (musafir). But if he does not fast despite all these comforts, even then there will be no sin on him. However, he will be deprived of the virtue of fasting in the month of Ramadan. If a person experiences difficulties because of fasting during the course of his journey, in such a case it will be better not to fast.




So in short, if you're going further than ~50 miles, and you begin before dawn (at least according to the shafi'is) then you're a traveller and do not have to fast. But, if fasting won't cause a hardship, it's better to fast, as the fast of Ramadan is an amazing thing with amazing rewards that can never be matched.




Fasting is for a fixed number of days, and if one of you be sick, or if one of you be on a journey, you will fast the same number of other days later on. For those who are capable of fasting (but still do not fast) there is a redemption: feeding a needy man for each day missed. Whoever, voluntarily, does more good than is required, will find it is better for him; and that you should fast is better for you, if you only know. 2:184

UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-03 07:39:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Come'on peoples, where's the excitement? Ramadan is a marathon. You can't just get up the morning of the 1st of Ramadan and expect to run a good race. Ya gotta prepare ahead of time!





Preparing for Ramadan with Halal Tube
Preparing for Ramadan Ahead of Time
How to Prepare for Ramadan
Preparing Kids for Ramadan

I was listening to a lecture by Sh. Husain Abdul Sattar about preparing for Ramadan, and he spoke about the importance of preparing and scheduling for the month. We often schedule out our iftars - gotta go to this iftar party and that iftar party - but how often do we schedule out our time for Allah (swt)?

Think about what you want to accomplish this Ramadan, and then work out a schedule to achive it! Sure, have fun at the iftar parties, but spend more time focusing on knowing Allah (swt).
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-30 16:11:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
*reminder* There's about a week left until the middle of shaban. The Prophet (saws) used to fast more in this month than any other month aside from Ramadan. He recommended to his companions to fast during this month. If they feared they'd be tired out before Ramadan, then they were to fast before the 15th of the month. If they knew they wouldn't be, then he recommended they fast up until the day or 2 before Ramadan.

The blessed companion Anas (ra) reports that Prophet Muhammad (saws) was asked, "Which fast is the most meritorious after the fasts of Ramadan?" He replied, "Fasts of Shaban in honor of Ramadan."
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-30 08:21:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
If one is physically unable to fast and will be physically unable to fast at any point in the future to make it up, they pay a fidyah. The way people calcuate what the fidyah is differs. Classically, it's calculated with assorted amounts of grain. I've also seen it calculated as the price of a meal that you yourself would eat, or the price of 2 meals - one in the morning and one in the evening.

I believe it's usually the same cost as zakatul fitr. I'll check with AbuS, as I've never had to deal with it before.

Why not ask the people at the masjid how they came to that amount?

Also, the price doesn't all have to be paid up front I don't believe. If you can't afford it, divide it up into managable pieces.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-28 13:25:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
QUOTE (chemaatah @ Jul 27 2009, 02:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (UmmSqueakster @ Jul 27 2009, 03:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Yup, although I have no personal experience (yet) with fasting while pregnant, everything I've read says to consult a doctor, and if you fear harm, then don't fast.

http://qa.sunnipath....=...7&CATE=1610
http://www.islamonli...hGuestID=6rRtzY
http://www.islamonli...hGuestID=Nz8efZ

i'm not trying to quibble, but some of the medical advice in the second link made me cringe. i'm no dr, just a lowly nurse, but it just left a lot to be desired. i realize the format with the live dialogues makes it hard to go in-depth and explore those issues more, but i sincerely hope the women who wrote in there had some follow up with other resources besides this conversation they had with this dr.


Being a legally inclined person with no experience in medicine beyond having to trudge through thousands of pages of medical records for assorted litigation, I don't really have an idea about what would be considered good medical advice. So, in short, talk to your doctor, yes? good.gif
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-28 12:01:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Yup, although I have no personal experience (yet) with fasting while pregnant, everything I've read says to consult a doctor, and if you fear harm, then don't fast.

http://qa.sunnipath....=...7&CATE=1610
http://www.islamonli...hGuestID=6rRtzY
http://www.islamonli...hGuestID=Nz8efZ
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-27 14:23:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Ugh husbands. There's a new book I saw that I'm getting mine for Eid - the Prophet Muhammad, Best of All Husbands whistling.gif

More resources:

Imam Zaid on Preparing for Ramadan

A variety of lectures on Ramadan and preparing for it
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-27 07:59:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Whether you follow calculations or moon sighting, we're now into the month of Shaban. That means one more month until Ramadan kicking.gif

Sha'ban: Merits, Do's and Dont's

From the article:



The blessed companion Usama ibn Zaid, Radi-Allahu anhu, reports that he asked Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam: "Messenger of Allah, I have seen you fasting in the month of Sha'ban so frequently that I have never seen you fasting in any other month." Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, replied: "That (Sha'ban) is a month between Rajab and Ramadan which is neglected by many people. And it is a month in which an account of the deeds (of human beings) is presented before the Lord of the universe, so, I wish that my deeds be presented at a time when I am in a state of fasting."

...

2. In another Tradition Sayyidah' Aishah, Radi-Allahu anha, has reported that Prophet Muhammad, Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, has said, "Allah Almighty descends (in a manner He best knows it) in the night occurring in the middle of Sha'ban and forgives a large number of people more than the number of the fibers on the sheep of the tribe, Kalb."

Kalb was a big tribe the members of which had a very large number of sheep. Therefore, the last sentence of the hadith indicates the big number of the people who are forgiven in this night by Allah Almighty.


UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-24 11:31:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
*Whenever possible, break your fast with dates. Not only is it a sunnah of our beloved RasulAllah (saws), it provides a shot of quick energy in the form of sugar. It perks you up, so you can get nutrition in you and continue on through isha and possibly taraweeh.

*Look to eat complex carbohydrates for suhoor. Oats, lentils, whole grain breads all stick in your stomach longer. Along that same line, avoid simple carbs like sugar, because your body will burn through them more quickly and leave you hungrier sooner

*If you must have soda/tea/coffee for iftar, make sure you drink an equal amount of water and/or juice. All too often, I only see soda served at masjid iftars.

*If you feel things are too hard, do something to distract yourself. For example, every time you feel hungry or thirsty, thank Allah (swt) that He has blessed you with enough food and water to normally partake whenever you want. There are people in this world who don't have that option.


UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-21 12:44:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Start practice fasting now! It used to be not so bad, when maghrib was at 4:30, just like skipping lunch. Right now, maghrib is at 9 pm blink.gif I used to not take naps while fasting, but this summer, it's almost been a necessity, especially if I've spent time outside.

*Baby fast. Start by going until 11 am. Then 11:30. Then noon. Then 12:30, etc etc etc. Work your way up slowly.

*Experiment with assorted foods for suhoor (the meal before fasting). Figure out what works well for your stomach, and what keeps you going throughout the day.

*Reduce/Eliminate coffee now! As one of my friends recently attested to, getting rid of coffee before you start fasting can help reduce fasting headaches.

*Don't gorge yourself at iftar (meal to break the fast). Eat a good portion of fruits and veggies. Fried and fatty foods are standard at iftars, but try to avoid most of them.

*Drink lots of water! As soon as you break your fast, drink at least a glass. Try to drink 3 or 4 glasses before you go to bed. And when you get up in the morning for suhoor, drink another 3 or 4 more.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-21 12:31:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Something I had planned on doing last year, but ended up not having time was the Heart Wheel Journal. Along with ten minute daily video clips you can find on youtube, each day has reflections and exercises to help you get the most out of the month.

If the download doesn't work anymore, let me know and I'll upload the pdf somewhere.

inshaAllah I'll have time for this this year.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-21 08:17:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
QUOTE (MrsAmera @ Jul 21 2009, 07:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
On one of the homeschooling (the best Islamic homeschooling site I've found!) I discovered that she has a special Ramadan site! Anyway she also has this great planner! You can just print the pages that you like - I especially love the meal planning pages. Since we will be living with my parents (non-Muslim) during this Ramadan I hope that this will really push me and help me to have meal plans in place - make my shopping and cooking easier as well. *crosses fingers*


Very spiffy. If you can, try to prepare the food on Saturday and Sunday. I've found that trying to run around cooking on week nights, especially after work, is a real drain, and sucks up any time that could be used for ibadat. One huuuuge pot of soup/stew, a huge pile o meat + salads and fruit usually gets us through the week.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-21 08:13:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
QUOTE (100% Al Ahly Fan @ Jul 20 2009, 08:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Anyhow, I wish I could get Tariq into Ramadan more. He loves the Eid (cause he knows he's getting toys and will do a fun activity) but I want to build excitement about Ramadan, I just don't know how.



These Ramadan calendars are pretty cool - maybe put a little quranic ayah in each pocket along with a piece of chocolate, and when he's read the ayah, he can have the chocolate. Or maybe a trivia question, and once he's gotten the right answer, etc.


UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-21 08:11:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
attaya_girl, we have plenty of honorary MENA girls, so welcome aboard. Do tell us about Ramadan in Senegal.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-14 08:13:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Ok, so when does Ramadan start? Here's a repost about the moon fighting issue:



For those who have never had the joy of observing Ramadan, or being married to someone who is obvserving Ramadan in the United States, let me introduce you to one of the many joys, er perpetual debates the american muslim community has.

When does Ramadan begin? And for that matter, when does Ramadan end? When is eid? huh.gif


For those who are going blink.gif , allow me to explain. The Islamic calendar is theoretically 100% naturally lunar. Our months are based on the phases of the moon, and a new month starts the new month. Sounds simple right? Ah, no.

The controversy arises when a community in a non muslim country such as ourselves (and in Canada, Britain, etc) can't decide exactly who sights the moon first.

Every year, we are faced with several options:

1. Follow an astronomical calculation that relies on numbers and not the actually physical sighting of the moon

2. Follow a national organization (like ISNA) or a major islamic insitution (like Zaytuna in California)

3. Follow the first physical sighting in North America

4. Follow a local sighting

5. Follow the sighting in back-home-landia.


Each contingent has their strong proponents and strong haters. Each year, without fail, each contingent will mount their evidence and begin to fling it about, usually on the internet and in the mosque after prayers.

And, each year, without fail, the national american muslim community will not celebrate and observe Ramadan in sync. This unsyncing often happens within local communities as well.

I bring this up because ISNA/fiqh council of north america has recently issued a statement regarding Astronomical Calculations of Islamic dates and Moonsighting.org is already predicting a start date for Ramadan.

So, pretty soon the whole messy brawl will start up again. For someone who comes from a muslim majority country, this bickering can seem pretty intimidating and very confusing.


So, as a vetern of 5 [edited 2009 to add, zomgosh, now I'm the veteren of 9 controversies] Ramadan/Eid controveries, I have some suggestions to offer. Now, these are purely *my* opinions from *my* personal experiences, and should not be taken as a fiqh statement of any sort. I'm not in the business of makin fatwas laughing.gif


1. If the mosque you/your husband attends is pretty unified on a start date, follow them. It will make it much easier to go to taraweeh prayers and celebrate eid with the community. The local community may rely on a local sighting, or they may go with the first sighting in north america. Both happen.

2. If the community is divided and the local masjid doesn't offer a start date, band together with a group of friends and observe Ramadan together. It's much easier to do if you have support around you. Or, go with the majority group, or the ones that will organize taraweeh prayers and the eid prayer.

3. I recommend against observing the start date of back-home-landia, especially if it's out of sync with what the local community decides on. While it is nice to fast and feast in time with his friends and family back home, he'll miss out on a lot in his very own surroundings. He can't very well hop on a plane and make eid prayer in his home country, and will have to pray eid prayer in his local community.

4. If this is your significant other's first Ramadan here in the United States, let him know that the american muslim community can never agree on a start date for Ramadan, has never agreed on a start date and probably never will. Let him know this a while before Ramadan approaches, so he won't get too flustered and shocked when he may want to be mentally preparing. If his grasp of english is decent, he may want to read this article by Imam Zaid Shakir of Zaytuna Institute about the controversy last year.

Now, in all fairness, the differences in start dates is usually only a day or two. Howeva, this can make a huuuuuuge difference for eid celebrations. Typically, eid prayer (which are required) is held on the first of Shawwal, the month after Ramadan. If you're out of sync with your local community, you may miss Eid prayers, because you're still on the last day of Ramadan and fasting while they're all getting festive.



Did I explain things well, or did I only create confusion? If something isn't clear, please let me know and inshaAllah I'll try to explain it better.

Ok, and here's some new info for 2009:

1. Excellent book by Sh. Hamza on the moon issues. I haven't finished it yet, but as always, I enjoy whatever he writes. He comes down on the side of actually physically sighting the moon, instead of calculations. You can download it and other articles on Zaytuna's Crescent Watch site. This site has moon watchers all over the country who report when the moon is right sighted in north america. AbuS now says, so, has Sh. Hamza seen the moon yet? before we start Ramadan, lol.

2. More info has also been written on the calculation method, if you're inclinded to follow that position.


UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-13 12:46:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
I'm always excited for Ramadan kicking.gif kicking.gif kicking.gif Can you tell, lol?

I made harira this weekend, but I wasn't too enamoured with it. I'm sure that it's my fault - I used ground lamb, since I didn't have any lamb chunks, and I think I put too many noodles in. I'll have to try it again in a few week, after I visit the halal store. We're actually thinking of hosting iftars this year, so I'm trying to find impressive foods to serve wacko.gif

I have a few ramadan muzlim lolcats in the works. If anyone has any kitty pics that look like a very hungry cat, or a praying cat, or something islam related, send em my way.

Also, I've finally convinced AbuS that he should do some Egyptian traditions during Ramadan. He has requested that I save all the paper scraps we normally recycle for decorations. Now I'm worried blink.gif

Edited by UmmSqueakster, 13 July 2009 - 12:38 PM.

UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-13 12:35:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
QUOTE (Sandrila @ Jul 10 2009, 01:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I already started gathering some receipes to make during Ramadan for hubby and me.

I am going to make Harira this weekend and some kind of Lentil/Beef Moroccan Stew.


Oooo, post your recipe! I've decided to attempt harira this year and need a few recipes to get a grasp of it.



A blogger posted about her suhoor strategy recently and it has a very tasty and promising smoothie recipe in it. Sounds like jamba juice to me, which is 2 good.gif in my book.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-10 14:15:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
QUOTE (skerber0 @ Jul 10 2009, 12:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (HLM @ Jul 10 2009, 10:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (skerber0 @ Jul 10 2009, 09:24 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
As you all probably know I am new this will be my first year, and am very 'wet behind the ears', so can you tell me what is Ramadan food? I think I got this part, you eat before the sunrise and first prayer, then break your fast at sundown. (layman terms, sorry) But do I understand there is a certain food I should break my fast with? And what is Eid?


Masha Allah, does that mean you are a muslimah now? smile.gif
There is no special food to break your fast with but it's sunnah to break it with dates and some milk then you can eat whatever you want.
Eid is right after ramadan is done it lasts 3 days it's the time where you celebrate breaking your fast after a long time of fasting.



I have been 'looking into' converting/reverting for some time now. I have now decided to convert, I am actually going to meet with a woman tomorrow at a local Mosque, I am soooo excited! I have considered myself Muslim in my heart for a while, but for some reason trying to learn everything first. But thanks to Rahma's blog I read something that encouraged me to 'just do it'. LOL
Thanks for the advise.


Alhamdulilah luv.gif

Glossary of Islamic Terms and Concepts
Common phrases and sayings
New Muslim Guide - search for "islamic terms" for a decent glossary


You are correct. We eat suhoor, the meal before the fast, before the beginning of the fajr. Fajr is the first of the five fard (required) daily prayers (if you're thinking western style days. Using the islamic calculation, the days begin at sunset). And we have iftar, the meal to break our fast, at the beginning of maghrib, the 4th prayer (or 1st, if you're going by the islamic calendar).
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-10 14:12:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
QUOTE (Ihavequestions @ Jul 9 2009, 11:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I'm looking forward to Ramadan recipes if any MENA girls have some to share, particularly those with ingredients that can be bought early (prices go way up during Ramadan and don't come back down and I don't want to reward that behavior if I can help it).



Sadly, most of my favorite ramadan foods are american and indian, so I don't know how easily you'd be able to get the ingredients, but inshaAllah I'll be posting some. Can you stock up on staples like rice, noodles and lentils? I know I'd be happy as a clam eating koshari every day for iftar, but I think AbuS mentioned that it's not really a ramadan food? Phhft, to me, as long as it's food, it's for iftar, lol.

We also buy bread in bulk and freeze it. Do bread prices go up during ramadan as well?
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-10 08:07:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Cross posted from the Muslim thread and ma blog. Definitely review the fiqh of fasting and fast a few days before Ramadan so you can hit the ground running.

Practical Tips in Preparation for Ramadan (from soundvision with added links by moi)

Ramadan is an event that occurs in the life of the faithful, as individuals and as an Ummah, once a year. It is intended by Allah to help us to recharge our spiritual batteries and thus prepare us for the great mission of realizing His will on earth. Therefore, in order to benefit from Ramadan, we may do well to prepare for it by opening our hearts and minds to embrace it. Let me offer a few tips:

1. We should empower ourselves by learning as much as we can about the precise laws as well as the benefits of fasting. Fiqh of Fasting Hanafi, Basics of Fasting - Shafi'i, Maliki book on Fasting, Fiqh us Sunnah on Fasting, general

2. We should ensure that we gain true benefits from our fasting, let us make sure to realize the spirit of fasting: this can only be done by abstaining, not only from food, drink, and sex, but also by strictly restraining our minds, hearts as well as our eyes, ears, hands, tongue, and so on. Inner Dimensions of Fasting by Imam al Ghazali

3.We must embrace the spirit of fasting as stressed in Hadith: to be charitable and compassionate as much as we can. The Concept of Charity in Islam, Muslim Character by Muhammad Ghazali

4. We should strengthen our relationship with the Qur'an; for Ramadan is the month of the Qur'an. Way to the Qur'an, Ulum al Qur'an

5. We should engage in dhikr and condition ourselves to make it second nature. My page of dhikr resources

6. Last but not least, we should build up our community through acts of charity and compassion and extending help to those in need as much as we can. Agenda to Change our Condition
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-09 11:48:00
Middle East and North AfricaRamadan 2009
Ramadan related posting goodness here!




UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-07-09 10:58:00
Middle East and North AfricaI need more education on halal foods
I haven't ever read anything that yeast or yogurt et al are not allowed. Ice cream wouldn't be halal if it included vanilla extract.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-05 18:52:00
Middle East and North AfricaI need more education on halal foods
QUOTE (chemaatah @ Aug 4 2009, 04:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (UmmSqueakster @ Aug 4 2009, 04:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I happened upon the IFANCA magazine while browsing a zabiha consumer magazine who's name escapes me at present. While their food list isn't too helpful, since it seems most of the products are actually only sold in other countries, the magazine has a list of halal certified companies at the back that looks promising. Of course, not everything each of those companies sell is halal - we buy Cabot Creamry cheese, but there are a few of their products that aren't vegetarian/halal friendly. Their website goes into more details.

I am also happy to see that they list artificial/natural flavorings and colorings as a questionable ingredient. If we hadn't happen to sit across from a food scientist who worked for haagen daaz a few summers back, we wouldn't have known that they may contain alcohol.

Also, I don't remember if I've mentioned the site Green Zabiha before. They sell polyface farm meat *faints* Ok, so I'm a huge Michael Pollen fan and a natural food movement dork, so sue me. Interesting little tidbit from Green Zabiha:

are there schools that consider ice cream and such questionable? i eat ice cream, bread, and organic gelatin free yogurt and keffir all the time without worry when i read this.


Yes, according to your second link:

QUOTE
This is the view propounded by the Foodguide service and rest assured that it is of sound Hanafi scholarship. Nevertheless, if you are a follower of a Maz-hab (school of thought) apart from the Hanafi School or you prefer to refrain from such products then that is fine too. We will try to facilitate such persons by indicating which products are affected on this web-site as far as possible.


Shafi'i Ruling on alcohol based flavoring

QUOTE
As for flavorings dissolved in ethanol, the ethanol is added (with the flavoring that is dissolved in it) to the substance in Question. The insertion of the ethanol into the substance would then filthify it, making it haram to ingest, etc.

UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-05 07:22:00
Middle East and North AfricaI need more education on halal foods
I happened upon the IFANCA magazine while browsing a zabiha consumer magazine who's name escapes me at present. While their food list isn't too helpful, since it seems most of the products are actually only sold in other countries, the magazine has a list of halal certified companies at the back that looks promising. Of course, not everything each of those companies sell is halal - we buy Cabot Creamry cheese, but there are a few of their products that aren't vegetarian/halal friendly. Their website goes into more details.

I am also happy to see that they list artificial/natural flavorings and colorings as a questionable ingredient. If we hadn't happen to sit across from a food scientist who worked for haagen daaz a few summers back, we wouldn't have known that they may contain alcohol.

Also, I don't remember if I've mentioned the site Green Zabiha before. They sell polyface farm meat *faints* Ok, so I'm a huge Michael Pollen fan and a natural food movement dork, so sue me. Interesting little tidbit from Green Zabiha:

QUOTE
Grain isn’t exactly cheap, and in an effort to find ways to feed animals more calories cheaply, Factory farms turned to protein rendering. Rendering takes meat scraps and waste products (carcasses, bones, fat, entrails, organs etc.) and through a process ‘renders’ it into liquefied edible protein.



So, back to our cows. The government allows cow feed to include
  1. pork(!)
  2. cow fat (!)
  3. blood (!)
  4. poultry and
  5. horse to name a few things
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-08-04 15:17:00
Middle East and North AfricaI need more education on halal foods
QUOTE (amal @ Feb 11 2009, 08:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
That is the other thing my husband was told but I can't remember the exact content. It had to do with being in America, which is a primarily Christian based country so that had something to do with the meat being "ok" and to say bismillah before u prepare or eat it. Rahma, can you shed some light on that?


Never heard of it, and just IMHO, that sounds really shady.

To go on a tangent, this is why, again IMHO, it's so important for people either to select a particular school of thought to adhere to, or research a scholar they know is on the up and up, and stick to those opinions. If someone doesn't have time to research the basis of the opinions, at least they trust the source they come from, and hopefully won't get hoodwinked.
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-11 13:32:00
Middle East and North AfricaI need more education on halal foods
Except that we don't know that the meat in the supermarket was actually slaughtered by a person of the book. That's my (main) issue with supermarket meat. It may be, but who's to say the guy at the slaughterhouse is a christian? That's what I mean by scholars back home don't quite understand our situation here. Sure, the US is a christian majority country, but by no means is everyone a christian. I think they believe since the US is a 'christian country', that the slaughterhouse staff is christian, but do we really know?

I would have no problem purchasing meat from a butcher I knew was a practicing christian or jew, and he slaughtered the meat in an appropriate manner (without electric shocks or metal rods shot into the brain, which are other reasons I can't eat supermarket meat). In fact, I'm looking at the organic/free range ranchers in the area for someone who is, so we can purchase meat directly from them once we have a house and a big meat freezer inshaAllah. Haven't found one yet, but we have a year or 2 until we get that big meat freezer smile.gif

Edited by UmmSqueakster, 11 February 2009 - 09:46 AM.

UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-11 09:44:00
Middle East and North AfricaI need more education on halal foods
I'd almost say you should have your husband do research as to what's acceptable, but I'm coming to think that scholars from "back home" don't really understand the food situation here in the US.

If he is takes the opinion that only meat slaughtered in a particular way is ok for him to eat, and he's ok with vegetarian and sea food options when that meat is scarce, then don't push him to eat supermarket meat. I have a bunch of good vegetarian cooking resources, if you're looking to expand your repetoire star_smile.gif

re: your family, I've found that it's simpler to say that you'll (he'll) be eating vegetarian, rather then to nit pick over no pork, only zabiha (slaughtered islamically) meat, etc etc etc. It's not too hard to pick up a can of vegetarian baked beans, some potato salad sans bacon and a box of veggie burgers to bring along to a cookout if they're not accomidating to his food choices.



for those interested in the grocery store meat vs. zabiha debate here's:

*Qaradawi's ruling in his book "The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam" that allows supermarket meat to be eaten
*A response to Qaradawi's fatwa saying supermarket meat is in fact not halal
UmmSqueaksterFemaleEgypt2009-02-11 09:16:00