1. It started with a 26-year old, just came out of University with a degree in computer science. He couldn't find a job as there were few available but being a responsible son to his mother, he bought a stall and started selling vegetables. He was however, harassed by the government officials in Tunisia even fined and beaten by the Tunisian police. He filed a complaint and waited for his hearing in court but they refused him one. On 17th December 2010 after leaving a message for his mother on Facebook saying 'mom, I never cried or shed any tears...' and then, he went in front of the building that refused to give him a hearing and burnt himself. He died surrounded by his loving family a few days later...
2. That sparked series of protest by men all over Tunisia and ended with the removal of their corrupt leader Ben Ali.
3. Since then, there has been protest in Yemen and followed by a major protest in Egypt.
4. To have such a protest and show of the power of the people in Egypt is a major event. Egypt has one of the most brutal police force in the world, known for their brutal methods and torture. To stand in front of such oppressors shows the courage and determination of the ordinary people.
5. For years, we have expressed the plight of all the Muslims in different Muslim countries suffering from the oppressive rule of their leaders, puppets of the West. However, the response by some has always been 'if the people didn't want them, they wouldn't be there'. but they took for granted the fear and the shackles that was placed in the minds of Muslims towards these rulers. How many activists, da'wah carriers, imams, mujtahids are rotting in the prisons of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and other Muslim countries.
6. Now, the Truth is out! Now, they see the true feelings of the people.
7. The West especially Britain has been very quiet and on BBC they are admitting openly how 'the West have been propping up these regimes for years and the best thing we can do now is to keep quiet.' they are admitting things like ' the West is worried if Mubarak leaves because Mubarak has been a key figure in the implementation of American interest in that region.' US, the so called great nation with weapons and tanks are saying ' We will let the Egyptians decide their own future'. By definition, there's nothing to stop the Muslims from re-establishing the Khilafah now. Amin! Amin!
8. No more lies...the Truth will always be revealed. These rulers are nothing but puppets of the West, paid by their masters by hoarding the stealing the wealth of the Ummah. The Ummah do not support them and the Ummah is looking for change. They do not want Western style democracy; after all democracy is already failing in the Western world as we see Bankers and Capitalist are the true rulers in the West. They want something else...whether they will choose to implement a true Islamic system, the Khilafah system...only God knows. We need to know that the Victory is only from Allah but we hope that will be the case. We hope that the Muslims will choose Islam, which is in their true nature.
Hadith: (every Muslim must know this one)
"There will be Prophethood for as long as Allah wills it to be, then He will remove it when He wills, then there will be Khilafah on the Prophetic method and it will be for as long as Allah wills, then He will remove it when He wills, then there will be biting Kingship for as long as Allah Wills, then He will remove it when He wills, then there will be oppressive kingship for as long as Allah wills, then he will remove it when He wills, and then there will be Khilafah upon the Prophetic method" and then he remained silent (Ahmed)
Saturday 29 January 2011
Sunday 23 January 2011
How life is back in UK
After having a lovely chocolate cake from ASDA, I got ready to leave my auntie’s house and got into my new VW silver Polo computerised manual nipply little car. It is such a nice car to drive. The engine is smooth and when I go into neutral, the engine switches off automatically and restarts when I press on the clutch. How cool is that? Love it! Love it! Wish I could get one of those. I was looking at car prices as I drove past some 2nd hand car shops and you can get 2nd hand BMW as low as GBP4000. There was one gorgeous silver sports BMW for GBP9000. Wow!!! I wonder why I didn’t bring one of those back to Malaysia.
Anyway, I was driving along and it was a nice orderly traffic and I went down through Blackwall tunnel and it felt so familiar, driving along the A2 and took the exit onto Lewisham. I remembered my old hospital, Lewisham University Hospital. There were such fond memories. Anyway, I went to my mother in law’s house. We chatted and chatted and went to bed.
The next day I left early for an appointment and managed to visit my old workplace. The receptionist greeted me with hugs and some of the patients were asking me to come back for good. I told them I can’t leave my parents now and I have to look after them. Had a bit of a chat with the practice manager talking about the politics of the NHS and the changes brought in by the new government. So, doctors are back to becoming managers again with the middle men out of the picture. There’s a lot of fear, more work, more responsibility but also more opportunities for young GPs to be part of the steering group or even opportunity to be part of the postgraduate training. I knew I always had that opportunity but it was my family issues that kept me back, raising four children with no help...in a land where you felt you couldn’t trust anyone...it was hard but look at me now, I have travelled half way round the world leaving my kids on the other side...have I changed? Have my mentality changed or is the reality different? What would happen if I were to come back, would I grab these opportunities and still have the mentality of complete reliance on Allah (Tawakkal) for the safety and development of my children or would I feel guilty, fear...and the need to control everything? Slowly...slowly that would probably be the case as society shapes the way we feel and think. It would be the pressure on me telling me I am a bad parent for ‘choosing’ career over parenthood. I wonder why British society tries so hard to make mothers feel inadequate, probably a subtle way of subjugating women.
Then, I went to Croydon town centre to do some shopping. I was just grabbing stuff like a wealthy Arab. I have to say shopping in London is great especially if you know where to look for bargains. For lunch, I had baked potatoes with cheese filling. Hmmm.... then I went to visit another friend of mine and evening, I went with one of my friends to a sister’s party. It was the best thing ever...to meet up with all my old friends eating, chatting and playing some games. They are such a rowdy and competitive bunch but Alhamdulillah in an atmosphere of emaan (ehem...) but they surely know how to have a good time in a completely halal way. I said to them “sisters...I left you for one year and what has happened???” it was fun! I miss them all soooo...much. I doubt you can find anyone like these sisters anywhere else in the world. We stayed chatting and drinking tea until 2am and finally went home.
Anyway, I was driving along and it was a nice orderly traffic and I went down through Blackwall tunnel and it felt so familiar, driving along the A2 and took the exit onto Lewisham. I remembered my old hospital, Lewisham University Hospital. There were such fond memories. Anyway, I went to my mother in law’s house. We chatted and chatted and went to bed.
The next day I left early for an appointment and managed to visit my old workplace. The receptionist greeted me with hugs and some of the patients were asking me to come back for good. I told them I can’t leave my parents now and I have to look after them. Had a bit of a chat with the practice manager talking about the politics of the NHS and the changes brought in by the new government. So, doctors are back to becoming managers again with the middle men out of the picture. There’s a lot of fear, more work, more responsibility but also more opportunities for young GPs to be part of the steering group or even opportunity to be part of the postgraduate training. I knew I always had that opportunity but it was my family issues that kept me back, raising four children with no help...in a land where you felt you couldn’t trust anyone...it was hard but look at me now, I have travelled half way round the world leaving my kids on the other side...have I changed? Have my mentality changed or is the reality different? What would happen if I were to come back, would I grab these opportunities and still have the mentality of complete reliance on Allah (Tawakkal) for the safety and development of my children or would I feel guilty, fear...and the need to control everything? Slowly...slowly that would probably be the case as society shapes the way we feel and think. It would be the pressure on me telling me I am a bad parent for ‘choosing’ career over parenthood. I wonder why British society tries so hard to make mothers feel inadequate, probably a subtle way of subjugating women.
Then, I went to Croydon town centre to do some shopping. I was just grabbing stuff like a wealthy Arab. I have to say shopping in London is great especially if you know where to look for bargains. For lunch, I had baked potatoes with cheese filling. Hmmm.... then I went to visit another friend of mine and evening, I went with one of my friends to a sister’s party. It was the best thing ever...to meet up with all my old friends eating, chatting and playing some games. They are such a rowdy and competitive bunch but Alhamdulillah in an atmosphere of emaan (ehem...) but they surely know how to have a good time in a completely halal way. I said to them “sisters...I left you for one year and what has happened???” it was fun! I miss them all soooo...much. I doubt you can find anyone like these sisters anywhere else in the world. We stayed chatting and drinking tea until 2am and finally went home.
UK blues...
Being back in the UK is really strange. It is not easy to be away for a year and come back and simply fit back in. When I was living in UK and going back to Malaysia for a holiday, it felt like going back home even though things were strange and different but it felt familiar but coming back to UK doesn’t completely feel like home. I guess it is because home is where my parents are. Still, it is such a nice feeling to see family again and I can’t believe I’m here.
This morning I had a big breakfast, 2 sausages, egg and real whole meal bread. I felt so full afterwards I couldn’t eat anything else for lunch. I’ve had so much cake today that I’m feeling slightly nauseated. This is the reality of living in this world, this is NOT jannah and you can’t have too much of the things that you love whereas in Jannah there would be no such thing as too much...
Having a shower was a challenge. It was so cold even though the water was heated and it was really warm but everything else was cold. I was feeling cold. I can’t believe how I manage to wake up every morning, have a shower before going to work.
One good thing about England is driving. People actually give way. I really miss that. They stop at zebra crossings...wow!!! Driving is a much more pleasant experience. The polo I rented is pretty cool. It is diesel and the engine automatically saves energy when the gear is in neutral and as soon as I press on the clutch, the engine switches back on. It is a manual car but with a lot of computerised features. I wish I could bring it back to Malaysia and it is such a small nippy car. CUTE!!!
People talk very slowly and precisely, always choosing the best word to express how they feel and think. It is these things that I miss. Things just seems more refined...
This morning I had a big breakfast, 2 sausages, egg and real whole meal bread. I felt so full afterwards I couldn’t eat anything else for lunch. I’ve had so much cake today that I’m feeling slightly nauseated. This is the reality of living in this world, this is NOT jannah and you can’t have too much of the things that you love whereas in Jannah there would be no such thing as too much...
Having a shower was a challenge. It was so cold even though the water was heated and it was really warm but everything else was cold. I was feeling cold. I can’t believe how I manage to wake up every morning, have a shower before going to work.
One good thing about England is driving. People actually give way. I really miss that. They stop at zebra crossings...wow!!! Driving is a much more pleasant experience. The polo I rented is pretty cool. It is diesel and the engine automatically saves energy when the gear is in neutral and as soon as I press on the clutch, the engine switches back on. It is a manual car but with a lot of computerised features. I wish I could bring it back to Malaysia and it is such a small nippy car. CUTE!!!
People talk very slowly and precisely, always choosing the best word to express how they feel and think. It is these things that I miss. Things just seems more refined...
Thursday 20 January 2011
Returning to UK - getting there in one piece
Sitting there...inside the plane waiting for the flight to take off was one of the hardest moments of my life. Doubt started creeping in...what am I doing? Why am I here? Why am I doing this? Leaving the children behind...13 hours of sitting in this confined space ahead...I felt my breathing getting slower...and slower...and my pO2 level was reducing....and I thought to myself the next stage, I would start hyperventilating and the gas-exchange in my blood will deteriorate and I was near a panic attack stage. I tried to calm myself down. I thought about breathing in a plastic bag but that would only alarm the other passengers. The sight of a hijabi behaving strangely is not good in a plane full of white people, with all the scaremongering of plane-hijacking and suicide bombing...I would definitely cause a scene.
So, I tried breathing slowly and deeply. I felt slight light headed and I thought if I was to faint now, I wonder if there's another doctor in this plane that can do something. The pilot gave an announcement that they were having problems doing the head count. I wonder why they needed to do a headcount but anyway, it meant there was a delay and I was struggling to remain calm.
Finally, the captain announced that we were ready for take off. As soon as the plane started moving, all my fears and doubts disappeared. The flight journey was usual and I tried to stay awake as much as I could watching movies on e-player but I kept falling asleep half way through the movie. Plane journeys are never comfortable especially for a 13-hour flight but it was bearable. I tried to control my motion sickness by having some anti-emetics. It seemed to do the trick. After my fourth movie and intermittent cat naps...we were finally there. The plane landed with a bump and soon, we were off the plane onto the airport. The temperature outside was 3 C. It was freezing!!! I hadn't eaten much on the plane but I wasn't feeling hungry.
I got into the wrong queue at the passport counter cause these was no signs to say 'foreign' passport or UK passport only. The immigration officer says "you're in the wrong queue". The trick to embarrassing situations is not to apologise and just walk away and pretend nothing ever happened and that it was not your fault or you could make a quick witty remark. The most important thing is...try not to attract attention and if you have to, then do it in a way that you're blaming others and not yourself. Anyway, went pass the immigration counter still feeling a bit whoozey from the flight. Got to the car rental counter and was given the car keys. I was given directions to pick up the car from the rental car park and there I was at 11 pm, walking in freezing temperature with my luggage along a darkly lit coridoor towards a deserted car park. There was still someone at the car rental office. I told her, "I'm here to pick up the car" and she said "sure, go ahead"...and I thought, right! just pick up the car and go. I found the car...it was a cute little silver Polo. I loaded my suitcase in the car and sat in the driver's seat. I didn't even know how to turn the bloody thing on...the word 'clutch' was flashing before my eyes so, I pressed on the clutch, turned the keys and voila! it started. I started flicking all of the switches searching for headlights, wipers, heaters. It took me 15 minutes to work everything out. Then, I was off on the M11 towards London. I thought to myself, independence and self-reliance is the key to surviving in the UK.
So, I tried breathing slowly and deeply. I felt slight light headed and I thought if I was to faint now, I wonder if there's another doctor in this plane that can do something. The pilot gave an announcement that they were having problems doing the head count. I wonder why they needed to do a headcount but anyway, it meant there was a delay and I was struggling to remain calm.
Finally, the captain announced that we were ready for take off. As soon as the plane started moving, all my fears and doubts disappeared. The flight journey was usual and I tried to stay awake as much as I could watching movies on e-player but I kept falling asleep half way through the movie. Plane journeys are never comfortable especially for a 13-hour flight but it was bearable. I tried to control my motion sickness by having some anti-emetics. It seemed to do the trick. After my fourth movie and intermittent cat naps...we were finally there. The plane landed with a bump and soon, we were off the plane onto the airport. The temperature outside was 3 C. It was freezing!!! I hadn't eaten much on the plane but I wasn't feeling hungry.
I got into the wrong queue at the passport counter cause these was no signs to say 'foreign' passport or UK passport only. The immigration officer says "you're in the wrong queue". The trick to embarrassing situations is not to apologise and just walk away and pretend nothing ever happened and that it was not your fault or you could make a quick witty remark. The most important thing is...try not to attract attention and if you have to, then do it in a way that you're blaming others and not yourself. Anyway, went pass the immigration counter still feeling a bit whoozey from the flight. Got to the car rental counter and was given the car keys. I was given directions to pick up the car from the rental car park and there I was at 11 pm, walking in freezing temperature with my luggage along a darkly lit coridoor towards a deserted car park. There was still someone at the car rental office. I told her, "I'm here to pick up the car" and she said "sure, go ahead"...and I thought, right! just pick up the car and go. I found the car...it was a cute little silver Polo. I loaded my suitcase in the car and sat in the driver's seat. I didn't even know how to turn the bloody thing on...the word 'clutch' was flashing before my eyes so, I pressed on the clutch, turned the keys and voila! it started. I started flicking all of the switches searching for headlights, wipers, heaters. It took me 15 minutes to work everything out. Then, I was off on the M11 towards London. I thought to myself, independence and self-reliance is the key to surviving in the UK.
Wednesday 5 January 2011
First week of school and what a mess!!!
Today was the 3rd day of school and arranging transport for the kids is indeed a challenge. First of all, the bus came late and I was told later by my daughter that the bus driver had dropped the kids at the wrong school. Despite the children trying to tell the bus driver that they did not go to that school, he refused to listen to them. Luckily, one of the children called his parents (from a public phone) and the parent (hopefully) shouted and sweared at the bus driver. He turned back, picked up the kids but still, forgot to drop the actual school kids that went to that school and so, had to repeat his journey for the third time. What do you say to a moron? Err...don't drive a bus! Hopefully he would have learned his lesson and imbibe the meaning of the hadith, "A believer is not stung by the same hole twice." This is the problem when Muslims do not embrace Islam within their personality, it even effects their common sense.
Then, after waiting for half an hour at the bank I was told that their system is not working and they were unable to process my application. So, why did they not put up a notice to say so? Even bankers are a bit thick!
Suddenly, during a meeting I got a text message from my hubby. He was at the dentist with my son with a photocopy of his citizenship document. They were querying it and decided he was foreign after all. So, I spoke to the manager on the phone and she kept saying..."As a citizen, you must understand..."and giving me a long explanation about foreigners trying to abuse the system. I said, "Yes, I understand but what are you going to do with my son!!!" Honestly, if you are querying an official document from the government then what else can I do, bring to you the government officer or the Pengarah everytime I go to a Government clinic?
So, there I was waiting at another bank...and this time it took me bloody 2 hours to be seen. By this time, I was about to cry my eyes out and potentially hit someone. When I am angry, I get very very quiet and serious...and a notch from that, like when I was working in Obs and Gynae, I start swearing using the word 'bloody' a lot. My ultimate temper tantrum is when I start to shout, the way I do to my kids. My kids can take it presumably because they know that despite me shouting at them, I still love them but for anyone else, it means the end of our relationship. They never ever see me in the same way again.
Anyway, I was just very quiet...answering only when spoken to and preferably not answering at all if I could. Then, I went for lunch finally after not having anything to eat since breakfast. I had an ice-blended mocha...finally...I felt calm. It is the simple things in life that brings pleasure Alhamdulillah.
So, that is life...in this jungle. One thing I can say for sure, the only thing that keeps me alive in this jungle is Tawakkal. Without it, there is no hope. Just knowing that Allah is there, watching and looking after me and my kids makes me understand that there is order in this chaotic world. The order set by Allah is far superior than the chaos of man-made laws.
Then, after waiting for half an hour at the bank I was told that their system is not working and they were unable to process my application. So, why did they not put up a notice to say so? Even bankers are a bit thick!
Suddenly, during a meeting I got a text message from my hubby. He was at the dentist with my son with a photocopy of his citizenship document. They were querying it and decided he was foreign after all. So, I spoke to the manager on the phone and she kept saying..."As a citizen, you must understand..."and giving me a long explanation about foreigners trying to abuse the system. I said, "Yes, I understand but what are you going to do with my son!!!" Honestly, if you are querying an official document from the government then what else can I do, bring to you the government officer or the Pengarah everytime I go to a Government clinic?
So, there I was waiting at another bank...and this time it took me bloody 2 hours to be seen. By this time, I was about to cry my eyes out and potentially hit someone. When I am angry, I get very very quiet and serious...and a notch from that, like when I was working in Obs and Gynae, I start swearing using the word 'bloody' a lot. My ultimate temper tantrum is when I start to shout, the way I do to my kids. My kids can take it presumably because they know that despite me shouting at them, I still love them but for anyone else, it means the end of our relationship. They never ever see me in the same way again.
Anyway, I was just very quiet...answering only when spoken to and preferably not answering at all if I could. Then, I went for lunch finally after not having anything to eat since breakfast. I had an ice-blended mocha...finally...I felt calm. It is the simple things in life that brings pleasure Alhamdulillah.
So, that is life...in this jungle. One thing I can say for sure, the only thing that keeps me alive in this jungle is Tawakkal. Without it, there is no hope. Just knowing that Allah is there, watching and looking after me and my kids makes me understand that there is order in this chaotic world. The order set by Allah is far superior than the chaos of man-made laws.
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