It’s not “Ah-botta-baad” or “Ah-boat-a-baad”, or anything close to that.  It’s pronounced “Ab-ta-baad” or “Ab-ut-a-baad”.

Much is being said elsewhere about the events of the past 24 hours or so, by many people with experience and knowledge of those matters.  But as a Pakistani-American, who spent half his life in Pakistan, I really need to set the record straight.

Abbottabad, a small hillside town in northern Pakistan, has been a popular summer tourist destination since the British Raj.  In fact, the town was named after Major James Abbott, a British military officer credited with founding the town.  He was so mesmerized by the area’s beauty, that he wrote a poetic ode to it.

Abbott.  Abbott-abad.  Get it?

The area has had a strong military history and connection since those times.  Abbottabad is very close to Haripur, the birthplace of former Pakistani dictator General Ayub Khan.  The Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) is located in Kakul, which can be considered part of the greater Abbottabad area.  PMA is a four-year military academy, and is the closest thing Pakistan has to West Point or Sandhurst.  As most of us now know, the events that recently took place were only about 1/3 mile from the academy.

The area remains a popular tourist destination, and had been on my list for the next time I got the opportunity to visit Pakistan.  The relatively cool summer weather, and views of snow-capped hills and peaks make Abbottabad quite breathtaking.

Anyway, the point here had been to clarify the correct pronunciation of what has probably become the world’s most famous town, but I digress.

Based on my above attempt to help pronounce the name, you will note that some people stay true to the founder’s name, and use all the syllables.  Others prefer to skip the “ut.”

So to the world’s media, please get it right.  If not for Abbottabad or Pakistan’s sake, at least for the late Sir Abbott’s sake.

Source: everystockphoto.com

here: http://www.ocregister.com/news/disney-268325-wear-muslim.html

Image URL: http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocregister/article/l9fa2z-l9fa1chijabd.jpg

Joining the Abdullah brothers are the football players at Fordson High School.

“Fordson” is a feature-length documentary film that follows four star Muslim football players from the high school in Dearborn, Michigan as they prepare for their season during the month of Ramadan. The trailer speaks for itself.

I recently had the privilege of speaking with Carrie Peterson, the Viking’s nutritionist who has been working with Abdullah, and Toby Smithson, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson, about how we can also stay healthy throughout the day during Ramadan.

Given that we have a limited time to consume the nutrients and calories we need, both experts stressed the importance of eating nutrient dense foods, such as lean proteins, low fat dairy, whole wheat and whole fruits and vegetables.  Fortunately for us, we’re not professional athletes and probably need only half the calories Abdullah does.

I asked Peterson, a Minnesota native who was tasked with developing a plan for a Muslim athlete for the first time, what we should eat as soon as we are permitted.  Noting that we probably already do this, she recommended having a glass of water to hydrate our bodies and a sugar-rich snack (eg., fruit or a cookie) to give our bodies the quick jolt of energy they need.  Interestingly, it was the custom of Mohammed, peace be upon him, to break his fast with water and dates – a sugar dense fruit.

How about after breaking our fast?  Pigging out is not the best route.  If we eat as much as we can, we may overeat and our bodies will store the excess from that meal as fat.  Plus, we’ll be throwing off our bodies’ metabolism.

We should space out our meals, having one comprehensive meal soon after we break our fasts, and then another smaller meal before bed.  Meal planning is important for doing this effectively; Peterson recommends making our meals in advance, especially if we’re going to be stuck late at the office, so we’re not scrambling to eat and scarfing down whatever junk food we can get our hands on.

These meals should be balanced – consisting of carbs, proteins, and even fats.  Smithson emphasizes the importance of the five food groups (bread, cereals and potatoes, proteins, dairy, fruit & vegetables and foods containing fat and sugar) to ensure we get the right balance.  “Make sure lean protein foods and foods containing carbohydrates are included as protein foods tend to stay with you longer while carbohydrate foods give you energy,” says Smithson.

“Our body,” says Peterson, “prefers to run on carbohydrates, especially our brain.”  There are two basic types of carbohydrates – simple, such as simple sugars, candies and sugar cereals that get into our systems more quickly, and complex, or longer-chain carbohydrates, such as foods with whole wheat, which have the added benefits of phytochemicals, which provide additional fiber, as well as cancer and heart disease risk reducing properties.

The simple carbohydrates go through our system first, then the long-chain/complex ones, followed by proteins and finally fats.  As a result, the proteins and fats help us to feel fuller, longer.  An example of a balanced meal is one that consists of fruit, eggs, buttered whole wheat toast, and a glass of low-fat milk.  We’ll get our simple and complex carbohydrates from the fruit and whole wheat toast, respectively, the protein from the eggs and milk, and fats from the butter and eggs.

As part of Abdullah’s plan, he sets an alarm for the middle of the night to get up and have a protein shake.  “I couldn’t expect non-athletes to be that serious, but make sure there’s something to drink by your bed and if you happen to wake up, then drink,” says Peterson.

Getting the hydration our bodies need and spacing it out is important.  Peterson points out that our bodies can absorb only so much fluid per hour – binge drinking water before going to bed won’t do much more than wake us up in the middle of the night for a trip to the bathroom.  While free water is ideal, milk or orange juice helps provide our bodies with both fluids and nutrients.  The food we eat also has water content, too.  For example, watermelon may be 96% fluid and two pieces of toast might be 30% water.

So is there anything we should be avoiding?  Peterson recommends avoiding high fat and deep fried foods.  In addition to the poor nutritional value, they’re likely to disrupt our sleeping.  No use in being both sleepy and hungry.

Fasting can be tough, but with professional athletes competing at their best on empty stomachs, there’s no reason we can’t be at our best as well.  As we near the last third of Ramadan, it’s easy to feel drained and lose sight of how special this experience is as a community.  As Peterson said, in her distinctly Minnesotan accent, sounding like a hybrid of the Midwest USA and Canada, “It really amazes me the commitment that Husain [Abdullah] has…it’s fascinating stuff, part of the global community.”

Sheikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson (Zaytuna Institute, USA) and Professor Tariq Ramadan (Oxford University, UK) participated in a trailblazing conference answering questions about a world grown to acknowledge the axiomatic truth that Islam needs to reform. “Whether it is Western policy-makers seeking to protect themselves from Muslim extremists, humanitarian activists fighting to liberate silenced Muslims, or Muslims themselves responding to new paradigms faced in the 21st century, all are agreed that something within Islam needs to change. ”

website: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Healthyramadan/Pages/fastinghealthrisks.aspx

Headache – This common problem has many causes. Headaches during a fast could be due to dehydration or hunger, lack of rest, or the absence of addictive substances such as caffeine or nicotine. A moderate and balanced diet, especially not missing the pre-dawn meal, taking in enough fluids and, if necessary, some painkillers such as paracetamol, can help prevent or reduce the risk of headache. Headaches can also be prevented by being exposed to direct sunlight, wearing a hat when out, using sunglasses to reduce the effect of glare from the sun and relieving any tense muscles with a short, gentle massage.

Dehydration-Dehydration is common during a fast. The body continues to lose water and salts through breathing, perspiring and urinating. If you don’t drink sufficiently before a fast, your risk of dehydration increases. This risk is higher in older individuals and in those taking medications such as diuretics. If you are unable to stand up due to dizziness, or you are disoriented, you should urgently drink regular, moderate quantities of water – ideally with sugar and salt – or Dioralyte or Lucozade. If you faint due to dehydration, your legs should be raised above your head by others, and when you awake, you should urgently rehydrate as outlined above.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Healthyramadan/Pages/fastinghealthrisks.aspx

Access to clean water has always been a problem in Pakistan, but now the floods have made for a dire situation by breaking open sewer lines, filling wells with dirty water and displacing millions of people who can only use the contaminated water  which is around them.  Children are more vulnerable to diseases such as diarrhea and dysentery because they are more easily dehydrated and many children in Pakistan were malnourished to begin with, with the floods weakening their immune systems further.

The Pakistani government and international aid groups have worked diligently to give access to clean water to millions of people affected by the floods and treat those suffering from waterborne diseases, yet they have been overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster, which has displaced a million more people in recent days.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmJKIXRzLGGjCmi0p_Iv4uvl99YAD9HTFMI81

Peter Sanders, Courtesy of Flickr.com

Peter Sanders, famous photographer of the rock and roll greats of the 60′s and 70′s, was one of the first Westerners to photograph the Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Meca. He later embraced Islam himself. His goal now is to portray the traditions and spiritual aspects of Islam embraced by the majority of Muslims around the world and to filter out the politics and the extremists opinions of a few that dominate the public media.

Read more about Sander’s personal journey work on his Islam photo anthology:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/08/31/London.muslim.photography/index.html#fbid=oyBfznXelZ-&wom=false

When I was growing up in pre Sept. 11 America, I know that I was at constant conflict with the idea that I am just as American as any other kid. To begin with, my parents came from a country most of my fellow classmates didn’t even know existed. I spoke a language at home completely different from English, and being Muslim, I was taught that dating or going to school dances was something I shouldn’t be doing. Somehow I associated these things with being American, and because I didn’t engage in these ‘American’ things, my adolescent mind came to the conclusion that I wasn’t American.

To add to this feeling of being foreign, my exposure to ‘American Islam’, besides my interaction with other children at the local masjid who also felt the same as I did, was limited to learning about Muslim athletes in America, some who weren’t even originally from this country, and some who acted in what many considered to be an ‘Un-American’ way at least at one point in their lives. I remember being immensely proud when I would be asked by friends at school about Ramadan and fasting after they had learned that Hakeem Olajuwon would fast even during playoff games. Yet back then, I didn’t consider him as a genuine example of American Islam, because the back of his trading card said he was born in Nigeria. Yes, he was Muslim, but he, too, was foreign. Then there were the accounts of the great Muhammad Ali that I read in textbooks. Here was a born and raised American who came to Islam after reaching prominence as the best boxer to have ever lived. Yet when he consciously objected to fighting for an unpopular war in Vietnam and defended his views based on his new found faith in Islam, he was imprisoned for failing to serve in the armed forces. In 1996, a Muslim basketball player by the name of Mahmoud Abdur-Rauf stirred controversy by refusing to stand for the national anthem before games, stating that the American flag symbolized oppression and that his Islamic faith did not allow him to stand during the national anthem. Back then and to this day, I’ve disagreed with Abdur-Rauf’s act, but it’s easy to understand why I began to feel that perhaps being Muslim was at odds with being American.

Sept. 11 brought with it more feelings of confusion and conflict. American Muslims (and the vast of majority of Muslims worldwide) had nothing to do with the attacks leveled on this country that day, yet at school I was told a group of oddball kids who knew I was Muslim were ‘looking’ for me. My parents had forced me to stay home on that day in 2001, and who knows what may have otherwise happened. Even more appalling was the reaction of my French teacher the next day. After asking why I had been absent the day before and thereby placing me in an uncomfortable position, he proceeded to tell me how he wished he could “kick me back to Kabul”. I was shocked, but not silenced. I responded and told him my family was from Karachi. Friends who observed what went on in the classroom expressed their disappointment. I stayed silent, afraid to speak out to school administration.

Yet even in the face of such a blatant act of discrimination and ignorance, some how my faith in America was strengthened further after Sept. 11. Somehow I knew that the acts and words of a few did not reflect the sentiments of the nation. I knew that America was better than that. Several teachers approached me in the days after the attacks, insisting that I come to them if I found myself in a situation where I felt the target of discriminatory slurs. My neighbor brought me an American flag, and my friends made me feel like I wasn’t any different from them. I came to trust them, and they stood up to others and defended me against those who intentionally said hurtful things regarding my ethnic background and religious beliefs.

Encouragingly, though, it seems like I was in the minority of American Muslims to have suffered some form of discrimination here at home. According to a 2007 Pew Research Center survey, 73% of Muslim Americans said they had “never experienced discrimination while living in this country”. And since the early days after Sept. 11, when emotions were still raw and discriminatory comments perhaps excusable, I, too, can’t recount a time when I felt uncomfortable in my own skin as a Muslim. I’ve prayed with fellow Muslims on college campuses out in the open and at rest areas and monuments while on road trips. I’ve spoken out in classrooms about my Muslim American experience and more often than not been thanked for sharing my words by other classmates.

As I’ve matured, I’ve realized that the strength of this country lies in its openness and willingness to accept anyone and everyone. America doesn’t just make empty promises, and those famous words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty ring true for so many of us, including us Muslim Americans: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. We do breathe freer here than we would anywhere else, and for that, we are thankful.

But I’m afraid those same feelings of confusion from my childhood are creeping in again. I do not doubt mine or the loyalty of other Muslim Americans. I know that every one of us knows of no other nation we would rather call ‘home’ than this nation. But while I and those of my generation may have an unbreakable bond with this country, I am afraid for those Muslim children born and raised here and now growing up in an environment in which they must surely feel they are unwanted. In New York City, an Islamic Cultural Center blocks away from Ground Zero is being vehemently protested. Those who are behind the idea hope for it to become a symbol of peace, reconciliation, and understanding between communities. Others, however, just don’t see it that way. To them, Islam was behind Sept. 11, and having a Muslim place of worship near Ground Zero is “tantamount to a Japanese war memorial at Pearl Harbor”.

Then comes the news of a new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, citing that the number of Americans who believe President Obama is a Muslim is growing. According to the poll’s findings, 18% of Americans believe Obama is a Muslim. The Pew poll, however, was taken in July of this year, before the New York City ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ began attracting national attention. Time magazine, also posing the same question but doing so just earlier last week, found that the number increased to 24% in their poll. The White House, in response, felt it necessary to make a statement, reiterating that the President is a “committed Christian” and that “He prays every day”. Clearly, what’s being insinuated is that being Muslim is somehow wrong. It’s Un-American.

The constant barrage of anti-Muslim sentiment we hear in the media is disconcerting to say the least. It’s deeply disturbing. Yes, the majority of Muslim Americans may not have suffered any individual acts of discrimination, but we are now suffering from blatant and obvious discrimination as a group. Growing up, I thought it unthinkable for a Muslim to even serve in Congress let alone be President. I also thought I would not see a black man become President in my life time. Yet when Barack Obama was elected, a small and perhaps overly optimistic part of me took faith in the words of Colin Powell, who, in response to pre-election assertions that Obama was a Muslim, asked the question of whether there was “something wrong with being a Muslim in this country” and whether there “was something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim American kid believing he or she could be President?” The answer, said Mr. Powell, was no. I teemed with pride and emotion when I heard those words.

Source: AssociatedPress via YouTube

And yet today, when I stand for nightly Ramadan prayers at my local masjid, and I see a small boy standing next to his father, mimicking his every move while trying so hard to stand straight and still, I can’t help but think what type of America he will inherit. While a Muslim President may not ever be reality, will it even be ok for him to dream that he can become one? If not, then prejudice, bigotry, and ignorance are winning. And for me, that is not what America is. I remain faithful that this country will continue being ours just as much as it is anyone else’s. I only ask that our fellow Americans think so, too.

Ramazan'da Caz via Haber Pan

How is your community celebrating Ramadan this year?

If the US leaves now, another civil war will ensue and Afghans will continue killing each other for years to come (as happened when the US left the Cold War — you can see what good that has done). I believe the US mission in Afghanistan needs to focus on clearing up the poppy crops, invest in rebuilding, education and most importantly, training the Afghan National Army & Afghan National Police.

In my opinion, the Taliban or a similar group will always be a presence, but if Afghans are able to defend their own country, they wouldn’t need foreign troops for help. Finally, Afghanistan will not have a better future until its neighbors (Pakistan, India, Iran, and Russia) stop supporting militia groups within Afghanistan. The June 16th issue of T the Economist summed it best, “A Western withdrawal would leave Afghanistan vulnerable to a civil war that might suck in local powers including Iran, Pakistan, India, Russia. Sooner or later, the poison would end up harming America too: it always does.”

Courtesy of Flickr.com