Tortured by torture

Some torture techniques I would like to share with you. These had been sanctioned for use by the CIA on terrorism suspects under the Bush administration, but outlawed now under President Obama.

Waterboarding: Aimed at simulating sensation of drowning. Used on alleged 9/11 planner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Insect: Harmless insect to be placed with suspect in 'confinement box', suspect to be told the insect would sting. Approved for terrorist suspect Abu Zubaydah, but not used

Walling: Detainee slammed repeatedly into false wall to create sound and shock

Sleep deprivation: Detainee shackled stading up. Used often, once for 180 hours

Read more.

I really don't know how someone can be deprived of sleep for a week and still survive. Moving on - torture is an act that destroys every iota of humanity in both the person being tortured, and the person doing the torturing, and anyone who sanctioned the torture. Even animals don't torture each other.

Signing ceremony - not the end

Yesterday, we went to the lawyer's office to get some papers signed. We wish to sell off my late dad's house and land in India, so there was some documentation involved to prove that his remaining kin all agreed to sell it off. So all four of us had to sign the papers yesterday in front of the lawyer and get it signed, before posting them to India.

One year later and the paperwork hasn't finished. There's still more to go...

Afterward, we had lunch at Taj Restaurant, next to Jamae Chulia mosque at South Bridge Road. It's run by Burmese Muslims, and the briyani there has a special flavour to it.

Easy to be lazy

It's amazing how easy it is to do nothing. You don't feel like doing anything, and you think it makes you feel good, so you continue doing nothing. The cycle continues, like a moron. There is no external pressure or force to do anything otherwise. You are too happy to stay the course and not rock the boat. It becomes too risky.

It takes considerable time, a lot of effort and willpower to stay "I can't stand this any longer!" and do something about it, without external forces acting or forcing you to do so. And after you do something about it, you wonder whether you rocked the boat or not.

That's when you realise that there is no boat.

Imbecile. Superhero.

Today in Gaza:
-1,300 people and children are dead
-4,000 buildings totally destroyed, another 20,000 damaged
-50,000 people are homeless
-400,000 don't have access to running water

(source)

But Hamas claims a "great victory over Israel", where 13 people died. What kind of imbeciles are these?

Meanwhile, there's a group of Arabs inside Israel who detest the whole thing but can't do anything about it because they are Israeli nationals (read).

This big mess is just part of an ongoing ordeal that ordinary folks have to endure repeatedly. Yesterday President Obama came into office, and people want him to save the world, and one of the messes he's expected to clear up is this.

Not only that, he has become the ultimate object of "Othering" - he's a superhero, pop sensation, underdog, Will Smith, all rolled into one. One thing's for sure - he's become a defining figure in world history without even having coming into office yet.

Do'a

I was speaking to a friend on the ongoing Palestinian crisis, and how the range of media statements released by various organisations urging for the conflict to end did not address the fundamental emotional angle that the event represented for Muslims everywhere.

It's a huge tragedy. As a father, I feel extremely sad and disturbed for all the parents who have lost their children in the Israeli assault. Of the more than 1,000 dead, about a third are children. That's about 300 children. May Allah give them a wonderful bounty, free from the sadness and suffering of this world, and His magnificent company and the Holy Prophet's (s.a.w.) company.

As usual, with the previous bloodshed in Rwanda and Darfur and other places which I don't know of, the rich world with access to power and money is helpless, or chooses to be so. The diplomatic machinery is doing its job in the form of the UN to come to a ceasefire agreement which both Israel and Hamas can agree to. I don't know how long that will take.

What is the practical thing we can do? Donate in the Humanitarian Effort donation boxes at at the various mosques, and do a lot of do'a (supplications to God) that the conflict stops, that Palestinian civilians are spared of this ordeal, and that the Israeli government is able to come to a better solution to this problem in discussion with the various stakeholders involved.

It's a deeply emotional moment for the Muslim world - but let's remind ourselves that the problems are caused by people and their need for territory, and not define it purely as a test for Muslims. It's more complex than that.

Why I'm Not Surprised

The other day I saw a long queue at the ticketing office at Raffles Place MRT at 5pm. I thought a train had broken down so people were there to claim their money back or something. And people usually don't queue up at the office because of automatic top-up machines.

Yesterday I saw another long queue at Novena MRT at 3pm - not peak hour.

Then I saw the poster which made sense of everything. The great ez-link one-for-one card exchange is now on, announced by LTA last month. These new cards can be used for tapping at the buses and trains as well as paying for ERP toll charges and car parking fees.

The thing is - people have until 30 Sep 09 - 9 months - to do this exchange. The notices clearly state that there is no urgency to exchange your cards. Some folks really can't wait.

And... curtains

A historic place of learning will be closing its doors when 2008 ends.

No, I'm not talking about some Nalanda University. Its the Indian Muslim madrasah at Masjid Al Amin, which taught tens of students the rudimentary basics of Islam.

In a mixture of English and Tamil, the religion was made simple to understand for people aged 9 to 23. Although there was no standard methodology or structure/curriculum, the wholly-volunteer run class taught confidence ("reciting in front of class after given a notice time of 20 seconds"), memory skills ("regurgitate the doa's learnt last week in front of the class") and character-building ("You're going to get it for not memorising this doa/you're going to get public shaming for playing in the musollah during asr prayers") for a lot of kids and adolescents.

My younger sister had been learning there since 2000 (I think), since she was in Pri. 4. I was very interested to learn how to recite but due my advanced age of 21 prevented me from joining the class, which consisted mostly of 9 - 17 year olds then. But I put my pride aside for the sake of my learning and started my journey with and link to Masjid Al Amin and the important people whom I've gotten to know through it.

The first very important person is my Ustaz, the very first person who properly taught me how to recite and to recite well. In his own wacky way, he taught me Islam - what it means to be a good Muslim, and what it means to be a good human. Coming from a secular background, he fully appreciated moderation and always told me to balance my life between the religious and the secular, but never to compromise on religion. After I "graduated" from the class, he became and and still is my extremely close friend and mentor.

Then there are the friends whom I made in the class - Raascal and Ali (who doesn't have a blog name and who's in Texas at the moment with a clean-shaven look). On the first day of class which I attended, Raascal was wearing a sarong, making me think he was some really cool dude from India. But alas - he was merely testing out the sarong to see how airy the classroom really was. Both Raascal and Ali were one of my first Indian Muslim friends (can you believe that?) who had similar wavelengths as mine (don't count the bizarre and weird bits).

Then there is the mosque - I became closely associated with the events organised by the madrasah and helped out wherever I can for the masjid. I became a regular face at the mosque.

The latest development is that the administration of the mosque has decided to change the format of teaching at the madrasah into a more holistic one, namely under the A.L.I.V.E. series formulated by MUIS. This a good move, as it has a more interactive and engaging teaching methodology for younger kids. The class will also include non-Indian Muslims, and the medium of instruction will be in English.

However, many parents, themselves from the old school rote-learning method, disapprove of this shift and have decided to perhaps bring their children to other Indian Muslim madrasahs nearby. Whatever the case, there could be less students in the new format, which Insha Allah will start next year.

Which means that the old format which my friends and I are so familiar with will exist no longer at the masjid we live so close to - the madrasah as we know it will become something else. The timings will change, the students will change (and the fees will change). Although this sort of change is probably for the better, I cannot but help have a sense of nostalgia that the madrasah will no longer operate.

My doa's for the smooth operation of the new class next year.

Khamoshi

I found out the other day just how "noisy" my mind is. I tried to do an experiment - the aim was to concentrate on a particular sound only, and blank out everything else. It was tough. The random thoughts, the complaints, the worries, the song tunes, the comments for the song tunes all just kept popping up, refusing to shut up.

I guess it needs practice. What's the final aim of this exercise? They say the heart speaks much clearer when all the competing sounds and voices are removed from it.

Sickos

The recent Mumbai terror attack which claimed a Singaporean life made me sick. I feel like one of my relatives passed away. My heart goes out to the family of Ms Lo Hwei Yen. It must be so surreal for them. I cannot imagine the pain that her husband went through in Mumbai and now in Singapore. I know how a sudden death in the family feels like, but I cannot begin to even think about a demise such as this.

The people who did this all got wiped out by the very capable Indian commandos. A undignified death for what purpose? No one knows what their goal is. It is to liberate Kashmir, it is to fight America, it is to take revenge on behalf of the Palestinians, it's everything. It's everything but nothing. I don't think even they know why they're doing this.

Terrorists fight for their own selfish needs, and die for their own selfish needs. They don't die in the name of God or any religion. If they really know the essence of God's message to man, it is to live and serve others for the sake of God and religion and not cause death, mayhem and mischief to self and others. Their actions are condemnable and surely, they will answer to Him.

My prayers for all people in the world to be spared such terrorism, violence and confusion.

Ramadan post-mortem

What is with you - you might not realise that you have it with you.

Usually, I'd make it a point to do extra acts of worship during Ramdan - everyday go for terawih, recite the Qur'an and so on. During my fast, I'd be self-conscious of my fast and have thoughts of sacrifice, patience and the good feeling that I was being blessed. I felt the Ramadan "magic".

This year, it was very different. Since Zayed's arrival, our daily routines changed, and needless to say, the Ramadan schedule was a major hurdle, mainly in terms of sleep. (My wife got the brunt of it - waking up early for the pre-dawn sahur and sleeping late due to housework and Zayed's inability to sleep sometimes.)

Unlike previous years, I couldn't feel the Ramadan magic. I'd be tired, hungry, and wasn't afraid to admit to myself that I felt so. I would feel sleepy and lethargic at work. I missed a record number of terawihs at the mosque as a result of the need to sleep.

But good things came out - we went to my mom's house almost everyday to break fast. I truly appreciated my wife's energy to take care of Zayed and prepare the pre-dawn meals. I performed a record number of terwaihs at home. We hosted a record number of iftar sessions at home!

Eventually, my wife and I decided that tangibly, it seemed that we weren't able to perform the regular and 'prescribed' acts of worship - but we were able to tell ourselves that we were taking care of another human being in the house who wasn't around at Ramadan last year, and that we'd be rewarded for these little inconveniences, like the lack of sleep.

Eid passed. And the Friday I went to work, I totally, totally missed Ramadan. I missed the waking up before Fajr. I missed the iftar. I missed the need to perform terawih. I felt why God decided to just give us one such month of bountiful rewards. All it took was one wholemeal sandwich in the morning of Friday to sustain my breakfast and lunch. I didn't feel like eating dinner either.

And then I realised that truly, the magic of Ramadan was with me, but I had not sensed it then.

But I'm extremely thankful that I was given this feeling of longing... and not the certain feeling of apathy I felt at times during Ramadan.

Roles and Actions

From www.ryangariepy.com/digitalart.php

We just do what we have to do. Things like insecurity, doubts, suspicion, assumptions are distracting and dangerous. They take our focus away from the real task at hand.

God has given us each a special set of roles, and it is our duty to do that role properly and to the best of our limited capacities. For surely, He will not place a burden greater than what we can bear.

So in the end, it is just about knowing what to do, asking questions to clarify, and just doing it.

Iftarismo

The Prophet s.a.w.: He who provides for the breaking of the (Ramadan) fast of another person earns the same merit as the one who was observing fast, not diminishing in any way the reward of the latter.

- Related by Tirmidhi

The briyani at Masjid Khalid is legendary. The rice is light, and the mutton masala is a bit sweet yet slightly spicy, and mild. I think they use a fine brand of basmati rice. But the mutton portions leave much to be desired as they consist mostly of bone and cartilage. But that's ok.

We had the briyani yesterday, and I was reminded of a similar time last year with the Musketeers and one of the Musketeers' wife. This year, I was fortunate enough to break fast with three people whom I did not know. I didn't know their names, or where they came from, but I did know that we were destined to be there breaking fast together and enjoying the barakah of the meal served by the masjid.... alhamdulillah.

There are a lot more Hari Raya stalls in Geylang than last year. Every former empty space is now filled with stalls selling anything from cars to kuih. Fortunately, as it was a weekday, the crowd was less of a challenge. We bought some really nice clothes for Zayed, and on the way got some goreng pisang and washed it down with teh tarik. We wanted to explore our gluttonous sides further but decided against it. Luckily.

Today, we hosted iftar for our respective families - but the women outnumbered the men! My wife, mother-in-law, mother-in-law's sister, my mom, my sister and sister-in-law Vs my brother, me and Zayed. Cannot lah... no fair fight. The MIA-ed ones (my father-in-law and brothers-in-law) couldn't make it.

This Saturday we'll be hosting an iftar for another group of friends, Insha Allah. These guys I've known for the longest time... and it's always a joy to have them at home to have a meal and catch up. We've gone our separate routes in life, but it's these small gatherings that make us come together and update each other on what's happening to each other. Looking forward to seeing you guys...

It's been long

Since Ramadan started, it's been tough to write any entries. Priorities were for family, worship and of course, work. Just couldn't squeeze in any time for any telepathy...

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I had a wonderful iftar session yesterday with some friends, many of whom are now scarily familiar with this blog ;) Thank you for the wonderful time.

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Sleep seems to be a valuable commodity. Just can't get enough of you.

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Last week, I had this fantastic retreat at the workplace, held at (drum roll) Crowne Plaza Hotel at Terminal 3. I know... airports aren't a typical place for retreats. But hey - it's new and they probably offered competitive rates. Great room ambience, superbly crafted toilets... and the view to the runway made the T3 hotel a superb experience.

Reflect

Solitude is the companion of self-reflection.

It's more productive and meaningful to spend an hour contemplating than doing things for the entire day without knowing why you do it.

Happy Ramadhan to all...

Demo

I don't know if people will use the Speakers' Corner to hold demonstrations.

I think that our culture is one (or has been made one) that values internal consultation, discussion and "engaging of stakeholders". Not the type that burns effigies and flags, and holds up placards.

Culture takes many years, even generations, to change. By allowing demonstrations to be held at the Speakers' Corner might excite a small part of the country who are familiar with the "Western" style of vocal and physical opposition.

I'd rather write to my MP than join a demonstration!

But I remember in my Uni days, we were all so "on" about the right to demonstrate in public, and making political films and so on.

The PM has made some concessions on these rules - it's a "step in the right direction", and might have significant impact in the years to come.

Active Living!

I had the privilege to attend the second Active Ageing Carnival at Ngee Ann City last Saturday. An amazing array of old folks, doing everything from roller-blading to flying foxing to riding go-karts greeted me.

Minister Lim Boon Heng was the Guest-of-Honour, and my mother, whom I'd asked to attend (because I want her to age actively) ended up being the honoured one when the Minister shook her hand at random and spoke to her, in the middle of a huge crowd.

I also saw Wong Li-Lin (she looks amazing! But she's lost quite a bit of weight) and Jacelyn Tay (she's damn thin!) at the Carnival. Pictures here.

I believe the face of ageing will change in Singapore sooner, than later. The wheels have been set in motion. No more will it be an image of a senior citizen, picturized as a spitting, frail, non-English sprouting old man/lady, a ridiculous Liang Po Po. It will hopefully be of an upright, sturdy, confident, purposeful and wise senior.

Tea with Muslim Professionals

Every year a Graduates Tea is organised for Muslim folks who graduate from our local polys and Universities. We had tried various formats – speech by the Minister followed by tea and networking, or speech followed by job fair, and – the list goes on.

Yesterday, we tried something different and we think we struck gold. We had the speech of course. But we also brought in successful Muslim people from the people sector, public sector and private sector and made them share their experiences, dreams and “how they made it” with the graduates. The result was powerful – regardless whether the participants gained or not, the organizers sure did.

There were so many learning points that I wished someone had shared with me when I was a fresh graduate – what kind of jobs to look out for, how to not simply get promoted but “leapfrog” by many levels, how to network and behave in a business setting, and how to view your working career in a holistic perspective... such things are priceless when you embark on the new and at times scary world of Working Life.

For me, what made the discussions even more exciting and penetrating were the frequent and rightful references to working in a fast-paced world and balancing our religious obligations.

Example 1 – You’re working in a French MNC, whose senior management socialize and network though social drinking. There’s no way to get into their good books (and get promoted) if you don’t “do as the Romans do”. A Malay-Muslim MD of a French MNC shared with us how he worked up the ladder in just over 10 years – he stuck to Islamic principles. He didn’t drink and worked hard. In fact, the clincher for his promotions was not only his phenomenal working attitude, but his principles in not drinking. The Frenchmen were impressed that a man could say no to a fine wine.

Example 2 – How does one stick to prayer times when there’s a constant stream of work coming at you? The experienced ones shared that firstly, work must not be an excuse to skip prayers – there’s always time to do them. After all, a fard prayer takes about 10 minutes, including time to wudhu. Lunch time is great for zuhr, while just before knocking off is good for asr and/or maghrib.

The discussion of such real issues that we as Muslims have to face daily, really made the event a joy to host and be a part of. The crux of the matter is that being Muslims, we are given the tools to see the world as a vast playing field of opportunities which are defined by the intentions we have of them. As Singaporeans, we are given the knowledge of two languages, and the spirit of hard work and good work ethics.

These qualities are invaluable to propel us to success as professionals in this world, if we work hard for it, and if we have the right intention for it.

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One

Everyone has their own perspectives, their own versions of events, their own truths. These are measured against personal judgements, biases, opinions and so on - mostly relative to one another.

But surely, there is one truth that exists on its own, which is the real Truth, which is measured against absolute qualities. It is the Absolute Truth.

Does this mean that relative truths are not truths? No - there can be a multiplicity of truths, and variations of Reality. But there can only be one truth that strings all others together. If not, surely, reality will be impenetrable, incoherent, and quite frankly, intolerable. So there is an Absolute Truth.

And seek it we must.

Telecommute

Working from home can be a blessing - and a curse.

Blessing because you can be with your family while you work... and curse because ofthe same reason.

But after all that is said - it's really a blessing, because the physical journey between work and home is reduced to nothing.

Keeping in touch

In this journey of life, we meet many people – some of them become friends, most of them remain as detached individuals. For those friends we make during the specific phases, they provide the support, strength and laughter during that time.

When we move on to the next phase, we meet another group of people, some of whom become friends. It’s like a train journey – some new people get on our train, some stay in a different compartment, some get off the train to take their own route. For those who go into different compartments or get off the train, they are not visible to us, for the time being at least.

But do we forget those who get off the train or go into different compartments, just because we don’t see them? No. They might not all be in sync with your train schedule, as they have their own priority bookings in their own trains, or buses or Mercedes’. Just because they cannot join you at certain stops does not mean they do not care, or do not wish to meet. It is a matter of timing and destiny.